Arnold Palmer Invitational, final round: Leaderboard, tee times, TV schedule

ORLANDO, Fla. — The leading two players at Bay Hill are no surprise, even if they have next to nothing in common. Rory McIlroy, who hasn’t finished out of the top 10 in any tournament since September, shot a 6-under 66 on Thursday morning in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Related: Leaderboard | McIlroy in familiar position at Bay Hill Matt Every, whose only two PGA TOUR victories in 237 starts were back-to-back at Bay Hill, played in the tough afternoon wind and was one shot better with a 65. Not only was it Every’s lowest round at Bay Hill, it was 20 shots better than his last round six days ago in The Honda Classic, when he shot 85. What a game. Every played bogey-free and put on a clinic with his irons, the strength of his game. He poured it on his back nine with birdie putts of 35, 45 and 30 feet. “I just didn’t want to shoot myself out of the tournament with the way the weather was,” Every said. “The putter was a little shaky. It’s always a little shaky. It was a good day for me.” It wasn’t bad for McIlroy. He avoided a big number early and delivered his best shot late for the best score among the early starters, when the wind only started to get strong at the end. McIlroy had his sixth consecutive opening round of 68 or lower, another great start. It just didn’t feel that way early. Trying to hammer an 8-iron to a back flag on his second hole of the day at No. 11, the ball landed short and left of the green and rolled into the water. He took a penalty drop, hit a pedestrian chip and escaped with a bogey by making a 10-foot putt. “To hole that putt for bogey … making 5 instead of 6 there is a big deal,” McIlroy said. “One over through 2 instead of 2 over is sort of a different feeling. And to turn that nine around and turn in under, I felt pretty good about myself going to the front nine.” He made three birdies and an eagle — a 3-iron from a fairway bunker to 25 feet — and was most satisfied by taking advantage of easier scoring conditions. Scottie Scheffler shot a bogey-free 67 and joined Talor Gooch two shots behind. Scheffler was the player of the year on the Korn Ferry Tour. Christian Bezuidenhout was in the group at 68 along with Keith Mitchell and Graeme McDowell. Bay Hill was plenty tough even before the wind arrived because of the thick rough framing fairways and greens that became firmer and faster under a warm Florida sun. It felt that way for Phil Mickelson in the afternoon and Adam Scott in the morning. Both shot 77. Only 18 players from the 120-man field broke 70. Every, even with his Bay Hill victories in 2014 and 2015, had a round out of nowhere. His 85 at The Honda Classic last Friday is a little misleading. He was on his way to missing the cut when he was determined to hit the proper shot to a back pin on a par 3 over the water. He hit 5-iron four times into the water. He hit 4-iron onto the green and made 11. “I wasn’t leaving that tee until I hit the shot I wanted,” Every said. “And I flushed every one of them, exactly in the same spot in the water.” With two balls left, he went with the 4-iron. And he finished the round and signed for his score. The card he signed Thursday was much better. McIlroy has gone six consecutive events worldwide without finishing worse than sixth, so this was expected. Even after his bogey on No. 11, and missing a 3-foot birdie putt on the par-5 12th, he was never really bothered. “One over through six, there’s still 66 holes left in this golf tournament,” he said. He began turning it around with a 5-iron into about 25 feet for a two-putt birdie on the 16th, and a flawlessly played 18th hole with a 3-wood off the tee and a 9-iron to 10 feet behind the flag. “Sort of had a bit of good pep in my step going into the first tee, and then I played some great golf after that,” he said. It was that 3-iron from the bunker on the par-5 fourth that provided the strongest illustration that this is a player in full flight. His caddie, Harry Diamond, told him it was his best shot of the year. It’s early March. But it was special. “I had 260,” McIlroy said. “I said to Harry, `If I can catch this 3-iron good and maybe pitch 10 or 15 yards short, maybe trundle up the hill’ … but short was always better than long. At it just came out perfectly and got up to pin high.”

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Collin Morikawa made five birdies in his last seven holes to overtake Rory McIlroy and win the DP World Tour Championship with a final-round 6-under 66 on Sunday. In addition to Sunday’s victory, Morikawa won The Open and World Golf Championships-Work Day Championship at The Concession to become the first American to win the European Tour’s Race to Dubai. Check out the clubs Morikawa used this week to get it done: Driver: TaylorMade SIM (8 degrees @9.5) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Titanium Rocket 3 (14 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX 5-wood: TaylorMade SIM2 (19 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), TaylorMade P730 (7-PW) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 (50-09SB), Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (56-14F), TaylorMade MG2 (60) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Putter: TaylorMade TP Juno Prototype Grip: SuperStroke Tour 1.0 Ball: TaylorMade TP5 (2021) Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord

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ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla.  – The World Golf Hall of Fame released the names of 10 finalists who will be considered for enshrinement in 2021. The list of finalists includes Male and Female Competitors and Contributors. Below is the list of finalists (listed alphabetically by category): Male Competitor (4) Johnny Farrell, United States Padraig Harrington, Ireland Tom Weiskopf, United States Tiger Woods, United States Female Competitor (4) Susie Maxwell Berning, United States Beverly Hanson, United States Sandra Palmer, United States Dottie Pepper, United States Contributor (2) Tim Finchem, United States Marion Hollins, United States The finalists were selected by the Nominating Committee comprised of 26 individuals, including six Hall of Fame Members: Juli Inkster, Hale Irwin, Meg Mallon, Colin Montgomerie, Mark O’Meara and Karrie Webb. Before gaining consideration, each finalist met the necessary qualifications in his or her respective category by way of on-course accomplishments or significant contributions to the game. “The Nominating Committee has selected 10 finalists who represent the highest caliber of golfers and contributors,” said Greg McLaughlin, CEO of World Golf Foundation. “The recent enhancements to the World Golf Hall of Fame Induction criteria provide a great process to ensure the most worthy of candidates are being considered. We are grateful to the Nominating Committee for their work and anticipate the Class of 2021 being one of our strongest to date.” The World Golf Foundation Board of Directors recently approved changes to the eligibility include lowering the age of a Male or Female Competitor from 50 to 45 years of age or three years retired from the game. Additional changes included retiring the Veterans category and changing the name of the former Lifetime Achievement category to the Contributor category. The Selection Committee, a 20-member panel comprised of Hall of Fame Members, media representatives and leaders of the major golf organizations, will be tasked with discussing the merits of each finalist and ultimately selecting the Class of 2021. The 2021 Induction Ceremony date, location and class will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information on the Induction process, visit www.worldgolfhalloffame.org. Class of 2021 Nominating Committee Chairman Greg McLaughlin, World Golf Foundation Hall of Fame Members Juli Inkster Hale Irwin Meg Mallon Colin Montgomerie Mark O’Meara Karrie Webb Institutional Seats World Golf Foundation Board Organizations Heather Daly-Donofrio, LPGA Steve Ethun, The Masters Angela Howe, The R&A Rand Jerris, USGA Allison Keller, PGA TOUR Guy Kinnings, European Tour Julius Mason, PGA of America At-Large Seats Media and at-large selections chosen by World Golf Foundation Board Ron Green, Jr., Global Golf Post Bob Harig, ESPN Nicki Hirayama, International Golf Federation Alastair Johnston, IMG Derek Lawrenson, Daily Mail Rich Lerner, Golf Channel Lewine Mair, Global Golf Post UK Randall Mell, Golf Channel Jimmy Roberts, NBC Dave Shedloski, Golf Digest/Discovery Reiko Takekawa, Golf Digest Kelly Tilghman

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