28/1 Scott takes Riviera crown

ORLANDO, Fla. — Tyrrell Hatton went from losing his mind to winning the tournament. Bay Hill served up a demanding test, and Hatton kept it together down the stretch Sunday by playing bogey-free over the last seven holes for a 2-over 74 to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Related: Leaderboard | Winner’s Bag: Tyrrell Hatton, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard It was his fifth victory worldwide, and first on the PGA TOUR, and it came in just his second start since returning from surgery on his right wrist during the offseason. Hatton jumped up 67 spots to 14th in the FedExCup standings.  But the 28-year-old Englishman could only smile when he tapped in a 3-foot par putt on the 18th for a one-shot victory over Marc Leishman, one of the few players who kept moving forward — barely — on another day of blustery, brittle conditions at Bay Hill. Hatton finished at 4-under 284, one of only four players who beat par for the week, the fewest at Bay Hill since 1980. So severe was the course that Matt Fitzpatrick closed with a 69, the only player to break 70 on the weekend. Rory McIlroy, one shot behind going into the final round, had a 76 for his highest closing round in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event since a 76 in the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion. He still tied for fifth, his eighth consecutive finish in the top 5 world wide dating to September. Sungjae Im, trying to become the first player since David Duval in 1997 to win his first two PGA TOUR titles in consecutive weeks, was there with a chance until he came up shockingly short and into the water on the 13th for a double bogey. He wasn’t alone in making big numbers, a list that includes Hatton. He had a three-shot lead when he drove into the water on the par-4 11th into the wind, went well over the green with his third shot, chipped short of the putting surface and had to make a 6-footer for a double bogey. The gestures, the temper, it was all on display. And it didn’t calm down when he eliminated a good birdie opportunity on the par-5 12th and then sent his tee shot on the 13th — a front pin on a green guarded by water — into the ankle-deep rough. But he gouged that out to set up a two-putt par, and then Hatton held his nerve. He saved par from just off the green on his next two shots — they were good iron shots, but the putting surfaces were so hard they wouldn’t hold anything. He saved par from the back bunker on the par-5 16th. And he hit the green — another minor miracle — on the par-3 17th for par. “I actually thought I played myself out of it when I made double on 11,” Hatton said. “When I saw the scoreboard on 14 green, I realized I had a one-shot lead. I was a little bit surprised. To hold on and win here … it such an iconic venue. I’m over the moon.” Im closed with a 73 to finish alone in third, followed by Bryon DeChambeau, who shot 32 on the back nine for a 71. Joel Dahmen didn’t have a round better than 71 all week, and that was on Sunday. He never had a chance to win, but the tie for fifth earned him one of three spots into The Open Championship this summer. How to celebrate that? “I think maybe just lay on the couch after this one,” Dahmen said. Keith Mitchell (71) and Danny Lee (75) also earned exemptions to The Open at Royal St. George’s. McIlroy’s chances began to fall apart when he hit driver through the fairway on the downwind, par-5 sixth hole into rough so thick his next shot squirted out to the right and into a bunker. From 90 yards away, he caught it too thin and it went over the green and into the rocks, leading to double bogey. Three holes later, he closed out the back nine by sending his tee shot out-of-bounds to the left and onto the range. McIlroy shot 40 on the front nine, and when he three-putted from 25 feet for bogey on the par-5 12th, his chances were over. The scoring average Sunday was 75.06, the toughest final round at Bay Hill since 1983. Hatton’s 284 was the highest score to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard since it began in 1979. But for a guy who looks as though he’s seeing red, Hatton never looked better in the red Alpaca sweater that goes to the winner at Bay Hill.

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Check out the entire field and how they qualified for the 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Club in Angus, Scotland. HOW THEY QUALIFIED The Open Champions aged 60 or under on July 22, 2018 Mark Calcavecchia Stewart Cink Darren Clarke John Daly David Duval Ernie Els Todd Hamilton Padraig Harrington Zach Johnson Tom Lehman Sandy Lyle Rory McIlroy Phil Mickelson Louis Oosthuizen Jordan Spieth Henrik Stenson Tiger Woods Top 10 and ties in the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale Rafael Cabrera Bello Branden Grace Brooks Koepka Matt Kuchar Marc Leishman Haotong Li Alex Noren Matthew Southgate First 50 players on the OWGR for Week 21, 2018 Byeong Hun An Kiradech Aphibarnrat Daniel Berger Patrick Cantlay Paul Casey Kevin Chappell Jason Day Bryson DeChambeau Tony Finau Ross Fisher Matthew Fitzpatrick Tommy Fleetwood Rickie Fowler Sergio Garcia Adam Hadwin Brian Harman Tyrell Hatton Charley Hoffman Beau Hossler Charles Howell III Dustin Johnson Si-Woo Kim Kevin Kisner Satoshi Kodaira Matt Kuchar Andrew Landry Alexander Levy Hideki Matsuyama Francesco Molinari Ryan Moore Kevin Na Pat Perez Ian Poulter Jon Rahm Chez Reavie Patrick Reed Justin Rose Xander Schauffele Charl Schwartzel Webb Simpson Cameron Smith Kyle Stanley Brendan Steele Justin Thomas Bubba Watson Gary Woodland First 30 in the Final Race to Dubai Rankings for 2017 Nicolas Colsaerts Paul Dunne Matthew Fitzpatrick Dylan Frittelli Tyrell Hatton Scott Jamieson Shane Lowry Thorbjorn Olesen Thomas Pieters Jordan Smith Hideto Tanihara Peter Uihlein Lee Westwood Fabrizio Zanotti BMW PGA Championship winners for 2016-2018 Chris Wood First 5 European Tour members and any European Tour members tying for 5th place, not otherwise exempt, in the top 20 of the Race to Dubai Rankings on completion of the 2018 BMW International Open. Alexander Bjork Jorge Campillo Matt Wallace U.S. Open Champions for 2014-2018 Martin Kaymer Masters Tournament Champions for 2014-2018 Danny Willett PGA Champions for 2013-2017 Jason Dufner Jimmy Walker Top 30 players from final 2017 FedExCup Points List Russell Henley Kevin Kisner Jhonattan Vegas Gary Woodland First 5 PGA TOUR members and any PGA TOUR members tying for 5th place, not exempt in the top 20 of the PGA TOUR FedExCup Points List for 2018 on completion of the 2018 Travelers Championship. Chesson Hadley Patton Kizzire Luke List 112th VISA Open de Argentina 2017 Champion Brady Schnell Playing members of the 2017 Presidents Cup teams Emiliano Grillo Anirban Lahiri Adam Scott First and ties on the Order of Merit of the Asian Tour for 2017 Gavin Green First and ties on the Order of Merit of the Tour of Australasia for 2017 Brett Rumford First and ties on the Order of Merit of the Sunshine Tour for 2017 George Coetzee 2017 Japan Open Champion Yuta Ikeda Top two and ties on Official Money List of the Japan Golf Tour for 2017 Yusaku Miyazato First 2 and anyone tying for 2nd place, not exempt in a cumulative money list taken from all official 2018 Japan Golf Tour events up to and including the 2018 Japan Tour Championship Kodai Ichihara Ryuko Tokimatsu Senior Open Champion for 2017 Bernhard Langer The Amateur Champion for 2018 Jovan Rebula The European Amateur Champion for 2018 Nicolai Hojgaard The Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion 2017 Yuxin Lin Open Qualifying Series Australia – Emirates Australian Open 2017. Three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties  Jonas Blixt Cameron Davis Matthew Jones Open Qualifying Series South Africa – Joburg Open 2017. Three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties Shaun Norris Shubhankar Sharma Erik Van Rooyen Open Qualifying Series Singapore – SMBC Singapore Open 2018. Four places to the leading four players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 12 and ties Danthai Boonma Sean Crocker Lucas Hebert Jazz Janewattananond Open Qualifying Series Japan – Mizuno Open 2018. Four places to the leading four players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 12 and ties Shota Akiyoshi Michael Hendry Masahiro Kawamura Manasori Kobayashi Open Qualifying Series Korea – KOLON Korean Open 2018. Two places to the leading two players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 8 and ties Min Chel Choi Sanghyun Park Open Qualifying Series France – HNA Open de France 2018. Three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties Marcus Kinhult Russell Knox Julian Suri Open Qualifying Series USA – The National 2018. Four places to the leading four players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 12 and ties Abraham Ancer Ryan Armour Bronson Burgoon Sung-Hoon Kang Open Qualifying Series Ireland – Dubai Duty Free Irish Open 2018. Three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties Ryan Fox Zander Lombard Andy Sullivan Open Qualifying Series USA – The Greenbrier Classic 2018. Four places to the leading four players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 12 and ties Austin Cook Jason Kokrak Kelly Kraft Brandt Snedeker Final Qualifying Notts (Hollinwell) – Three qualifying places Rhys Enoch Ashton Turner Oliver Wilson Final Qualifying Prince’s – Three qualifying places Retief Goosen Tom Lewis Haraldur Magnus Final Qualifying St Annes Old Links – Three qualifying places Marcus Armitage James Robinson Jack Senior Final Qualifying The Renaissance Club – Three qualifying places Thomas Curtis Grant Forrest Sam Locke Open Qualifying Series Scotland – Scottish Open (Three places for three players not otherwise exempt who finish in the top 10 and ties) Open Qualifying Series USA – John Deere Classic (One place for one player not otherwise exempt who finishes in the top 5 and ties)    

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