Collin Morikawa wanted to make the challenges associated with playing at Bay Hill Club and Lodge stress-free, and he’ll need to do that for one more day.
Morikawa shot a 5-under-par 67 on Saturday to move into the lead through three rounds of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla.
“For the most part, it was fairly stress-free,” Morikawa said. “I thought I did a really good job on the greens (Saturday), just kind of not lagging it, but just hitting good pace on the putts.”
He’ll take a one-stroke edge on Russell Henley going into Sunday’s final round.
Morikawa drained a birdie putt from almost 12 feet away on the last hole to gain sole possession of first place.
The six-time PGA Tour winner said he knows there are tricky components on this layout, so he’s prepared for that mentally.
“Fairways are narrow, rough’s thick, lies aren’t easy, and you just got to get lucky here and there with a couple,” he said.
Morikawa didn’t post a victory in 2024, so he’ll aim for a calm approach as he bids for his first win since the 2023 ZOZO Championship.
“I would say the guys that are winning on a constant basis, they’re playing free,” he said. “That’s how I’m going to go out (Sunday).”
Henley rolled in four consecutive birdies to begin the backside on his way to 67. Those helped counter a pair of bogeys during the round.
He said he’s unfazed by difficult setups. Fifteen golfers had sub-70 rounds Saturday.
“You just know it’s going to be a tough day, and I know everybody’s got to play it and you just got to do your best,” Henley said.
Canada’s Corey Conners (69) is third at 8 under. He went to the last hole tied for the lead, but his bogey combined with Morikawa’s birdie shuffled the order.
Conners said the final round is going to be a challenge.
“I think the greens are going to continue to be really firm and fast,” Conners said. “It will put a real premium on being in control of your ball, being in the fairway, and just trying to roll putts in the hole.”
Australia’s Jason Day (69) moved to fourth place at 7 under. Michael Kim (67) and Tony Finau (68) are at 5 under.
Day had moved into a tie for the lead through six holes, then had bogeys on the next three. He got it back together with birdies on four of the last eight holes.
“Just being out here for so long I think you just learn to put it behind you,” Day said. “Especially on a course like this, you know that everyone’s going to make mistakes, so you just got to try and get everything kind of levelheaded.”
Second-round leader Shane Lowry of Ireland began the day with a two-shot advantage on Wyndham Clark. Lowry’s 76 moved him to 4 under and into a seventh-place tie with two others.
Clark slipped even deeper down the leaderboard, shooting 76 and falling to a tie for 13th at 2 under.
The best round of the day belonged to Andrew Novak, whose bogey-free 65 moved him to 4 under. He birdied three of the four par-5 holes.
–Field Level Media
