Rory McIlroy, right, of Northern Ireland, watches his tee shot on the 12th hole during the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament in Orlando, Fla., Friday, March 18, 2016.
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(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack).
But he didn’t have to look far to realize that would be an issue.
Jason Day (-15) – It’s been a while since Day has been on top of the leaderboard heading into the final round, but as we learned a year ago, he doesn’t give it up easily.
When the day broke with sunshine, the anchor group of world No. 3 Day, No. 7 Henrik Stenson and No. 8 Justin Rose had everyone’s attention. “I’m so happy to be there, but the average is 13 or 14 under that kind of wins around here so definitely way above average”, Day said. “I have a week off to prepare and get ready”.
“It’s a nice way to round off the week”, McIlroy said.
“I’m not sure what the weather is going to bring us tomorrow”.
“There was no sense of urgency at all for me, really”, said Day after his 66 on Thursday. I’ve really beaten myself up for hitting bad shots and making mistakes and I can’t do that because you can compound one mistake with another and then you get into a bit of a lull where you play a bad nine holes and you just can’t afford to do that. I’m still grinding though.
That attitude is a departure from the one Stenson displayed down the stretch at Bay Hill a year ago, when he was put on the clock late in the day, became irritated, starting rushing, and three-putted the 15 and 16 holes to lose the tournament by one to Matt Every. But he answered with birdies at the par-5 fourth and sixth and par-4 eighth, the last coming when he popped the ball in from 48 feet out of greenside rough.
“It’s motivating”, Stenson said of the deficit he faced. “You’ve got to be clear on what you want to do and try and execute them well”. “You can’t let it be frustrating that you’re eight shots back”.
Seems like a simple formula. Now he appears to be back for more. “It’s always pleasing when you are in this position and know you can play better”.
Day does not have a great history in his limited time at Bay Hill.
Stenson finished second at Bay Hill previous year, so it’s evident he enjoys this layout and ought to be able to draw on his prior positive experience. It’s the second straight week that an amateur has made the cut; Georgia senior Lee McCoy finished fourth last week in the Valspar Championship.
Now it’s Maverick McNealy’s turn.
He’s 13-under after two rounds.
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U.S. Amateur champion Bryson DeChambeau shot another 72 and made the cut on the number at even-par 144. So maybe these guys are good. He has won the last three times he had at least a share of the 54-hole lead.
