ORLANDO, Fla. – With his name atop the leaderboard just across the water at Bay Hill’s par-4 18th hole, Tyrrell Hatton stood over a 30-foot downhill birdie putt. With a slight stroke, Hatton sent his ball racing toward the hole.
“I think even though I tapped that putt, it was probably going about 8 feet past,” Hatton said. “It was scary how quick that thing was.”
Just the third birdie on 18 Saturday. 🐦@TyrrellHatton with a clutch finish to Round 3 to enter Sunday with a two-shot lead. pic.twitter.com/jZrzl5i8Wb
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 7, 2020
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When the putt dropped, Hatton raised his fist in the air as if he had won the tournament.
One problem: It was only Saturday.
“I don’t normally fist pump on a Saturday,” said Hatton, whose 1-over 73 earned him a two-shot lead after 54 holes. “I think it was more shock that the ball actually went in the hole and very relieved.”
The 458-yard finishing hole was the toughest on the course Saturday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, playing into a 20-mph wind, forcing 12 double bogeys or worse and yielded just three birdies.
Hatton’s, of course, was one of them, and it gave him a nice cushion entering Sunday, which figures to produce more of the same tough scoring conditions.
“There are doubles and triples just around the corner, so that two-shot lead can go extremely quickly,” Hatton said. “Just got to see what happens. Eighteen holes is a lot of golf, and I’m sure it will be interesting to watch.”