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ORLANDO, Fla. – Jordan Spieth is in his ninth season on the PGA TOUR, but he had never played the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, nor seen Bay Hill Golf Club and Lodge before this week. Starting his Saturday four shots behind leader Corey Conners, Spieth said he’d gladly have signed up for a 68 and never left the locker room.
But man, what a wild day of fun and adventure he would have missed.
There were aces (two), including one by Spieth on the second hole. There was a Happy Gilmore moment on the par-5 sixth, as Bryson DeChambeau gave the fans what they wanted and took a mighty swat at the green. (He didn’t get there, but finished safely to the right, 370 yards away, leaving only a 58-degree wedge from 70 yards for his approach on the 531-yard double dogleg.)
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Oh, and when the sun rises Sunday, a 47-year-old Englishman will be atop the leaderboard. Lee Westwood, who made eight birdies and an eagle and shot his best-ever round at Bay Hill, a 7-under 65, moved to 11-under 205. He leads Bryson DeChambeau (68) and Corey Conners (71) by two, and Spieth (68) and Keegan Bradley (64) by three.
“Everybody keeps asking me when I’m going to the Seniors Tour,” said Westwood. “So I think they’re trying to get rid of me.”
Westwood, a former World No. 1 and a winner of 25 tournaments on the European Tour, first played at Bay Hill in 1998, tying for 13th. His fond memory of that first Sunday wasn’t his double-double finish, but sticking around the Bay Hill locker room deep into the evening drinking vodka and tonics with Arnold Palmer and that year’s champion, Ernie Els.
Saturday he finished 3-3-3, with an eagle at the par-5 16th (7-iron to 32 feet) and birdie at the demanding 18th (7-iron to 28 feet.) Westwood rolled in 128 feet, 11 inches of putts – more than his first two rounds combined. Not to say Westwood is old, but when he made his first Bay Hill start, Spieth was 4, and in kindergarten. Westwood’s first pairing at Bay Hill was with two-time Arnold Palmer Invitational champion Gary Koch, whose last start here was nearly two decades ago. (Koch is now in the booth for NBC’s API telecast.)
Westwood last won on the PGA TOUR in 2010, in Memphis, but captured the European Tour’s 2020 Race to Dubai, is still 39th in the world, and says his lighter approach these days helps fend off any nerves. Is he surprised to be in this position?
“I’m not surprised, no, because I haven’t lost any of my length and I haven’t lost any of my enthusiasm to go and work, and work in the gym,” Westwood said. “My nerves are still intact, I still get into contention and enjoy it rather than kind of back off.”
Speaking of “back off,” DeChambeau showed none of that on Saturday. He stepped to the par-5 sixth hole like a boxer stepping into the ring, and the enthusiastic gallery at the tee had but one message for him: GO FOR IT!!! And so he did, pulling out driver, ripping a missile that carried some 345 yards over water and finished 370 yards from where he was standing. DeChambeau triumphantly raised his arms high in the air as the ball was in flight. He knew he’d crushed it. His reaction? Huge smile. Pure joy.
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Source: PGA tour
