Long downs Mickelson, Hadwin with birdie on 18

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – As news trickled out on Wednesday a t The Northern Trust that Billy Payne had stepped down as chairman at Augusta National, there was a mix of surprise and appreciation among the players who have been so closely linked to the Masters over the years. “I was certainly surprised – what an incredible job he’s done,â€� said Jordan Spieth, who won the Masters in 2015 and was runner-up there in ’14 and ’16. Payne, who took over as chairman in 2006, will be remembered for the dramatic infrastructure programs that included the addition of a state-of-the-art entertainment complex and a host of new buildings, and he was applauded for his ability to improve an event that was already considered

Bay Hill provided a few dramatic turnarounds, good news for Henrik Stenson, not so much for Phil Mickelson. Through it all, Tommy Fleetwood and Keegan Bradley kept a steady march of solid golf Friday and wound up tied for the lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, four shots clear of anyone else going into the weekend on a course that has been tough all week. Bradley, with the renewed confidence of a player who last year ended six years without a PGA Tour victory, made all but one of his six birdies on the par 4s and had a 68.