Rory McIlroy said he felt “punch-drunk” after a wild final round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where Scottie Scheffler won for the second time in three PGA Tour events.
The 25-year-old, who won his first Tour title in a play-off at the WM Phoenix Open last month, finished one shot ahead of a three-way tie for second with a five-under-par total of 283.
McIlroy was in contention for the title at Bay Hill heading into the final round, but he struggled and finished tied for 13th after shooting a four-over-par 76.
“I feel punch-drunk, to be honest,” McIlroy said.
“The weekend, it’s like crazy golf. You just don’t get rewarded for good shots.
“Like I’m venting here and I’m frustrated and whatever. I think as well the frustration it’s a carbon copy of what’s happened the last three years here.
“Like I’m playing good. I’m hitting good shots. I’m swinging the club well. I’m chipping well. I’m putting well. But it can knock your confidence whenever the conditions are like this.
“I just need a day off tomorrow to forget about what’s happened this week and then just sort of focus on next week.”
Two wins in three starts 🏆 🏆
Scottie Scheffler is victorious @APInv! pic.twitter.com/xrfvaZCMrr
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 6, 2022
“It feels great, especially to win on such a difficult golf course and the way it finished,” Scheffler, who is set to move up to No. 5 in the Official World Golf Rankings, told Sky Sports.
“I didn’t play my best stuff; I just kept grinding and made some key putts down the stretch, and it was a fight all day.”
“I’m really proud of how patient I was; Teddy [Scott, Scheffler’s caddie] did a good job of keeping me in it, and it was a good result.”
BHatton, who won at Bay Hill two years ago, made seven birdies on a course that was baked and brittle, with greens that ran about 14 on the Stimpmeter and so few blades of grass that putts slid as much as they rolled. He finished more than an hour ahead of the leaders, and his score appeared to be good enough to force a play-off.illy Horschel was the last player with a chance to catch Scheffler, but he had to sink a 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole, which he never had a chance to make. He finished with a 75, tied for second with Tyrrell Hatton (69) and Viktor Hovland (74).
Hovland was still tied for the lead on the 17th until he caught a plugged lie in the front bunker and had to two-putt from 50 feet on the fringe for bogey. The Norwegian missed from 18 feet, needing a birdie to catch Scheffler, with whom he was playing alongside.
Hatton, who won at Bay Hill two years ago, made seven birdies on a course that was baked and brittle, with greens that ran about 14 on the Stimpmeter and so few blades of grass that putts slid as much as they rolled. He finished more than an hour ahead of the leaders, and his score appeared to be good enough to force a play-off.
His final two holes, while not as dramatic, were no less significant. On the 17th, Scheffler two-putted from 45 feet, the ball coming within inches of going in, for par. And he got it onto the green to just inside 70 feet from deep rough left of the 18th fairway. That putt came to a halt inches away, leaving a tap-in par and, ultimately, a big win at Arnie’s.
Gary Woodland, who was attempting to win for the first time since the US Open at Pebble Beach in 2019, suffered the most heartbreak. He was consistent all day and surged into the lead with a shot from a sandy lie, around the trees, and onto the 16th green, where he made a 25-foot eagle putt.
On the 17th, however, he needed two shots to get out of a front bunker and then missed a five-foot putt for double bogey. He found the left rough off the 18th and closed with a bogey for a 73, tying Chris Kirk for fifth place.
Kirk had a chance at five-under par with a birdie on the 13th. He birdied the 14th, the first of two straight birdies, and finished with three pars for a 72.
Kirk’s consolation prize was one of three available spots for the Open Championship at St Andrews this summer. Gooch recovered from a shaky start by shooting a bogey-free back nine to finish in the top ten and earn a spot in the Open.
Meanwhile, McIlroy had a frustrating afternoon that culminated in him snapping a club after a loose chip-shot on the 12th hole, and he is now focusing on the upcoming Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
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