| Arnold Palmer Invitational third-round leaderboard |
|---|
| -6 T Hatton (Eng); -4 M Leishman (Aus), R McIlroy (NI); -3 C Bezuidenhout (SA), S Im (Kor), D Lee (NZ), H English (US); -1 S Kang (Kor) |
| Selected others: +2 M Wallace (Eng), G McDowell (NI); +3 D Willett (Eng); +4 I Poulter (Eng), M Fitzpatrick (Eng), P Reed (US); +10 B Koepka (US) |
Englishman Tyrrell Hatton will take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The world number 32 birdied the last for a one-over 73 and a six-under total as he seeks his maiden PGA title.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, winner in 2018, also carded a 73 and shares second with 2017 winner Marc Leishman.
Swirling winds and rapid, baked greens made scoring hazardous at Bay Hill, with American Max Homa the only player under par for the day.
The brutal conditions saw world number three Brooks Koepka card the highest round of his PGA Tour career with a nine-over 81 that left him in a share of 64th place.
Homa returned a 70 despite a double bogey at the last that left him in a tie for 16th at one over.
Joint overnight leaders Hatton and Sung Kang were level at seven under approaching the turn before the Englishman found a bunker and then three-putted to double bogey the ninth.
Kang went one worse, however, when he made a triple bogey seven after twice finding water at the 11th and ran up another triple at the last to drop to one under.
McIlroy took a share of the lead after a 365-yard drive at the par five 16th created his only birdie of the day and he safely two-putted from 95 feet to par the following hole.
A shot went at the last after his second finished on the rocks to the right of the green, however, but Hatton – fourth behind Leishman in 2017 – overcame an increasingly chilly afternoon with two birdies in the final three holes.
He rattled in a putt from over 20 feet for only the third birdie of the day at the 453-yard par four 18th hole.
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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