Rory McIlroy hopes he can get some early momentum on Sunday as he looks to make a final round charge after a back nine birdie blitz gave him an outside chance of a second Arnold Palmer Invitational title.
McIlroy came home in a Bay Hill career low 30 to sign for a 68 and five-under total which at the time of wearing leaves him in a share of 6th place, five shots behind Will Zalatoris.
“Depends what the conditions are like. You start chasing on this golf course, it can bite you pretty quickly. You start taking some more aggressive lines, start going at some pins with these firm greens and short siding yourself.
“You got to pick your spots and still be patient. I think the wind’s going to be out of a different direction again tomorrow, so the wind or the golf course is going to play quite different to what it was today. We’ll see what happens.”
The Holywood man looked down and out after seven pars and two bogeys on his front nine but a drive into the heart of the 401-yard par-4 10th green set up a routine two-putt birdie and kickstarted his day.
“I wasn’t as long as I am now. I’m definitely a good few yards longer over the last couple of years than I have been in the past. I thought if I got it in one of the two front traps that would be a good leave to hit something up the green, but, yeah, I wasn’t trying to hit it on the green, but it was nice to walk up and see it on there.”
Back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13 moved him into the top-10 before he produced a grandstand finish with three closing birdies including a 30-foot 2 on the par-3 17th.
“I just didn’t have any momentum — I played the front nine pretty well. I hit two good shots into 1. Hit a great shot into 2. Hit a good drive, hit two good shots into 4. I was giving myself loads of looks.
“Then I hit a decent shot into 7 that I then 3-putted. Then, instead of, I was staying patient, then, instead of six pars in a row and then trying to break that with a birdie, I end up making a bogey, was sort of pretty frustrated going into the back nine.
“Then the 3 on 10, the tee shot onto the green there, that sort of got me going a little bit.
“Then I made a great par save on 11 after driving it in the water. And those holes in particular, 10 and 11, sort of got me going. There is some chances coming in. 12’s a good birdie chance, par-5. 16 as well. But obviously played those last few holes really nicely, and, again, second day in a row where I’ve actually putted really, really nicely, which is good to see.”
McIlroy admitted he was frustrated walking off the 8th green after his second bogey of the day but it seemed to reset him as he made his way to the back nine.
“I think so, like a bit of a reset, a bit of — it would have been nice to see a par on 8 today, but, you know, I played the last 10 holes in 6-under after that, so it was, yeah, sometimes you need to let it out, and not let it sort of just build up inside you, I guess.”
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