Max Homa Needs Great Final Round to Challenge at Arnold Palmer Invitational
Former Cal golfer Max Homa will need an extraordinary round on Sunday and plenty of help from the golfers ahead of him to claim his second PGA win of the year.
Homa began Saturday's third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla., five strokes off the lead, but he ended the day seven strokes behind leader Lee Westwood. Homa shot an even-par 70 on Saturday, leaving him at 4 under par. Perhaps as challenging as the seven shots he would need to make up is the fact that 21 golfers are ahead of him.
The 47-year-old Westwood blistered the Bay Hill Club & Lodge course with 7-under-par 65 on Saturday, putting him at 11-under, one stroke ahead of Bryson DeChambeau and second-round leader Corey Conners.
“I don’t treat [golf] as seriously," Westwood said. "I probably have the attitude of 20-year-old Lee Westwood. Through the 30s, I started to treat it a bit too seriously and worry about what people thought or look at trouble on the golf course. Now I just sort of stand up and hit it, and if it goes well, it goes well. And it generally does.”
Ken Bradley, who fired an 8-under-par 64 Saturday, and Jordan Spieth are another stroke back at 9-under.
Homa had an up-and-down round Saturday, posting a birdie on the second hole before suffering bogeys on the next two holes before getting another birdie on No. 5.
He added a birdie on the 12th hole, but bogeyed the final hole of the day to make his Sunday task that much more difficult. Homa won the Genesis Invitational two weeks ago.
Homa is in a better situation entering the final round than another Cal alumnus, Byeong Hun An. After an encouraging round of 68 on Thursday, An fired consecutive rounds of 74 and 75, leaving him at 1-over for the tournament and out of contention. However, he has made the cut in each of the five tournaments he has played in 2021. He had missed the cut in five of his seven tournaments in 2020.
It was an interesting day on the course Saturday. Victor Perez made an 11 on the par-5 sixth hole, and Jordan Spieth scored a hole in one on the second hole on a mishit. Justin Rose hit his ball into the water three times on the third hole and scored a 9 on that par-4 hole. Rose then quit soon thereafter with a bad back.
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Cover photo of Max Homa by Reinhold Matay, USA TODAY Sports
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