Orlando, FL ….
World No. 1 Rory McIlroys heads north to this week’s defence of his Players Championship title posting yet another top-five finish of the year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Flordia.
McIlroy went into the last day two shots off the lead but any thoughts of a first victory of 2020 turned pear-shaped under the weight of a pair of double-bogeys in a closing round of a four-over par 76.
England’s Tyrrell Hatton made embattled NBC TV analyst Paul Azinger eat his words in posting a final day 74 to capture a made PGA Tour victory by a shot with a four-under par tally and winning a week after Azinger lambasted both Lee Westwood and Tommy Fleetwood as not being good enough to win on the PGA Tour.
Hatton, and competing in his 60th Tour start, looked shaky after taking a double-bogey on 11 but superbly held his nerve to par his remaining seven holes.
McIlroy, who shared fifth place with two others, has now also finished top-six in his three Bay Hill starts.
“I’m doing what I expect myself to do every week, which is giving myself a chance,” he said.
“I give myself a chance most weeks and the more weeks than not it’s not going to happen. That’s just the way golf is. I mean, I think my win percentage on Tour is like 10 percent and I think that’s pretty high for anyone not being Tiger Woods.
“So, yeah, it’s one of those things. Like, I’ve had chances and I wish I had converted one of them over the last few weeks, but I’m still in good form.
“I’m playing some good golf and hopefully if I just keep putting myself in those positions, it’s only a matter of time.”
And Graeme McDowell walked from the final Bay Hill green joking that he needed to look for a padded cell having been just three shots from the first day lead in posting an opening 68 but the conditions toughened appreciably for the remaining three rounds to make a virtual mockery of the game’s best.
G Mac posted a second round 74 to easily make the cut but ended with a weekend pair of 76s to eventually finish T32nd
“It was a tough four days out there and I’m now looking for a padded cell,” he said smiling.
“I was disappointed I didn’t play the Honda last week as that may have helped my game this week and in saying that I am probably going into the Players this week a little fresher that I would have.
“It has just been a very mentally demanding test this week and especially when you don’t have you ‘A’ game as I drove the ball badly this week, and it just not the way to play Bay Hill.”
