Rory McIlroy Says Bay Hill Was on 'Knife Edge' At Arnold Palmer Invitational

ORLANDO, Fla. - If you watched the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday, you witnessed some of the best golfers in the world involved in more crashes than a NASCAR race. In the end, Billy Horschel and Talor Gooch emerged from the wreckage tied for the 54-hole lead at 7-under par.

The movement up and down the leaderboard was like watching a kid on a trampoline, jumping up and down. There were more bogeys than birdies and ponds were acting like vacuum cleaners as 53 of the 77 players in the field shot third-round scores over par.

Players looked completely whipped after they signed their scorecards. Some talked, some left with their tails between their legs, and some just looked numb. Most couldn’t get off the property soon enough.

“Look, it's so tough out there, it's so tricky,” first-round leader Rory McIlroy said after shooting 76 on Saturday. “It's just on a knife edge, like you're literally talking like feet. Two feet here, two feet there from 200 yards can make a huge difference in where the ball ends up.”

Players battled firm greens, tall, luscious rough and a breeze with wind gusts that would keep kites aloft. Bay Hill turned into a three-alarm fire with ponds but no firehouses available.

“We all knew the conditions were going to be tough today with the wind blowing,” Horschel said after a 1-under 71. “You knew it was going to be -- the greens are going to get very glassy, very frictionless. So, you've just got to understand what a good golf shot is out there.”

When Arnold Palmer moved the then Florida Citrus Open from Rio Pinar to Bay Hill Club his goal was to test players.

Over time, Palmer would make changes to the golf course every year, adding long rough, shaving areas around the greens, lengthening the course, changing grasses, changing par and making the greens as hard and dry as possible.

His legacy intact, his desire for his tournament crystalized and we have Sunday’s final round to see who will receive Palmer’s red cardigan sweater, part of the ritual of winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

“I think it's kind of just the experience, having been in contention and pulling off some great shots under pressure,” third-round leader Viktor Hovland said of Saturday’s examination. “I think that's about it. That golf course, although it was windy, which it was today, you can't really attack at all. Maybe certain holes with a couple pin locations you can be a bit more aggressive, but it's a completely different way of golf.”

Many people say PGA Tour courses are too easy and players hit the ball too far. Bay Hill on Saturday made those arguments moot. The setup this week at Bay Hill captured the imagination of some fans, players and, of course, Palmer, who would have loved this Saturday at the tournament that bears his name.

“You can have 2 1/2-footers, 3-footers on these greens, and they're no gimme, so it's just constant pressure,” Hovland said. “I think that's a good lesson for me because when it's easy, you don't think about the worst-case outcomes. You just look at the hole and try to putt it in or hit a good shot. But when you see so much trouble, a lot of bad thoughts start creeping into your head.”