Fitzpatrick Takes 1-Shot Lead over McIlroy at Bay Hill
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2019-03-10
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORLANDO, Fla. — Rory McIlroy seems to have everything going his way at Bay Hill except for recent history.
With three birdies over the last four holes, McIlroy had a 6-under 66 on Saturday that left him one shot behind Matt Fitzpatrick and in the final group of a PGA Tour event for the third time in five starts this year, and the ninth time dating to the start of 2018.
That’s a sign of consistently good play.
There’s also some frustration from not having won from the final group since the Irish Open in 2016.
And by the look of Bay Hill in the warm, late afternoon — greens that looked yellow, fairways feeling tighter in such firm conditions — it won’t be any easier.
"Just what I needed," McIlroy said.
"I did everything I needed to do today to get myself back in the golf tournament, and excited to have another chance tomorrow."
Fitzpatrick managed to avoid bogeys on a Bay Hill course so firm he could barely find any pitch marks on the greens Saturday.
It led to a 5-under 67 and a one-shot lead as he goes for his first PGA Tour title.
He was at 9-under 207, which spoke to the difficulty of a fast, fiery course that would have made Arnie proud.
It was the highest 54-hole score to lead at Bay Hill since Ben Crenshaw was at 210 in 1993.
That would have surprised no one who had to play it, especially late in the warm afternoon.
Fitzpatrick wasn’t aware that Keegan Bradley and Tommy Fleetwood, the co-leaders after 36 holes, had quickly gone in reverse.
But it didn’t take him long to figure it out. He hit a sand wedge from 115 yards to just inside 10 feet, and he couldn’t even find where the ball landed.
"So when you see that, you know it’s going to be in for tough, fiery greens," Fitzpatrick said.
"But the condition of the greens is fantastic and they have been all week, so I think that that’s what make it’s so great. You can still hit to 30 feet, 40 feet and just have a perfectly great putt, just because they’re so good."