Arnold Palmer Invitational Round 3: Collin Morikawa Birdies the Last to Lead by One

Bay Hill did not need wind on Saturday. It had greens.

On a calm day in Orlando, the putting surfaces turned firm, fast and borderline cruel, with reasonable birdie looks routinely skidding 8 feet or more past the hole. Most of the contenders spent the afternoon defending rather than attacking. Collin Morikawa found a way to do both, shooting a 5-under 67 and closing with a 12-foot birdie at the 18th to reach 10-under 206 and take a one-shot lead into Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

Russell Henley also shot 67 and sits alone in second at 9 under. Corey Conners is two back after a 69, and Jason Day is three behind at 7 under. Shane Lowry, who started the day two clear, shot 76 and fell six shots off the pace.

Morikawa Can't Fake It

Morikawa's round was built on the part of his game that has always set him apart. He made five birdies against one bogey, missed only four fairways and four greens, and leads the field in strokes gained approach and tee to green, according to Golf Digest. The finishing stretch is where he separated. At the par-5 16th he laid up, hit a lob wedge to 6 feet and converted. Then came the closer at 18, a 12-footer that turned a share of the lead into sole possession.

He was the only one of the leaders to avoid a bogey over the final four holes, which at Bay Hill on a weekend is practically a superpower.

"It's a course that if you're not playing great it's going to show," Morikawa said, per the AP. "It's just one of those that you can't fake it."

The two-time major champion has not won since October 2023 in Japan, a drought Golf Channel put at 502 days. Morikawa had some fun with that. "Thank you for putting that in exact days," he said. "I hope you have it in hours and minutes." He is back with longtime coach Rick Sessinghaus, and the irons look the part. "It's been awhile since I've hit my irons like this; it honestly has," he told Golf Digest.

Henley's Back-Nine Burst

Henley's 67 started with a bang, a long bunker shot holed for birdie at the 1st. The real damage came after the turn, where he birdied four straight holes to open the back nine and surged into the picture. He is the steadiest kind of contender, one of the shorter hitters on TOUR who wins with precision, and on greens like these, precision is the currency.

He was also honest about how uncomfortable the surfaces had become. "Some of these pin locations, I feel I'm having to putt very defensively," Henley said, per the AP.

Conners was right there until the last. A missed fairway at 18 forced a chip-out and a bogey, dropping the Canadian to 8 under, two back.

Day's Roller Coaster

Day might have had the wildest card of the afternoon. Fresh off Friday's 64, he briefly tied for the lead before three straight bogeys to close the front nine sent him backward. He answered with three straight birdies to finish, including a 20-footer at the 17th, to post 69 and sit three back.

His explanation for the bogey run was the greens, and he was blunt about it. "Any time you put your putter down and you start sliding on your putter," Day said, per the AP, describing surfaces that were getting slicker by the hour.

Michael Kim produced the round's fireworks, with two back-nine eagles in a 67 that moved him to 5-under 211, tied with Tony Finau (68). Kim is the only player in the top five who is not already exempt for the Masters, which a win on Sunday would change.

Lowry's Grind Turns Against Him

Friday's leader was undone by the very conditions he said he loved. Lowry signed for a 76 that dropped him to 4 under, nine shots worse than his Friday card. Even the finish was a fight. His tee shot at 18 ran so far that only the collar of the rough kept it out of the water, and his birdie try from just inside 25 feet ran 7 feet past before he holed the comebacker.

Wyndham Clark, two back at the start of the day, also shot 76 and slid to 2 under. Keegan Bradley had a 76 of his own.

Rory McIlroy was in range for much of the day before bogeys on three of his last four holes produced a 73. He is seven back at 3 under. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler shot 71 and is eight back, his chances dented at the 13th, where an approach came up short on a front pin and found the rocks. He saved bogey but could not find the birdies to recover.

Sunday's Setup

The final round has a clear shape. Morikawa holds the lead and the best ball striking in the field. Henley is one shot behind after matching Morikawa's 67 on greens that kept getting firmer. Conners and Day are close enough that a hot start changes everything.

With $20 million on the line at a signature event and a course that punishes every loose swing, a one-shot lead at Bay Hill is about as safe as a 4-footer on Saturday's greens.

Catch up on the first two rounds in our Round 1 recap and Round 2 recap. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 3 recap (opens in a new tab) has more details.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 3 recap and leaderboard), AP, Golf Channel, Golf Digest. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.