Arnold Palmer Invitational 2017: Saturday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights
Kevin Kisner will head into the final round of the 2017 Arnold Palmer Invitational holding a share of the lead with Charley Hoffman after firing a four-under 68 in Saturday's third round at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida.
Hoffman struggled for most of the day after leading at the end of Friday's play. He bounced back late to keep himself in the mix, but his mediocre round left the door open for another contender to make their move. Kisner did exactly that with six birdies as he seeks his second career PGA Tour win.
Meanwhile, a couple notable names—Rory McIlroy (-6) and Rickie Fowler (-5)—moved onto the fringes of contention with a pair of seven-under 65s, the best rounds of the day.
Here's a look at the top of the leaderboard after Round 3:
Kisner hasn't tasted victory since November 2015 in the RSM Classic. The 33-year-old South Carolina native is enjoying a solid season, though. He's already tallied a couple top-10 finishes, including a fourth-place showing at the Sony Open in January.
He posted bogeys on the second and 18th holes, but his driving and putting in between those blemishes were terrific. The difference Sunday will likely hinge on whether or not his iron play heats up. His terrific tee shots didn't always translate into good birdie looks in the third round.
Kevin Faigle of WRDW noted Kisner has been eyeing this type of performance all week:
Hoffman nearly let the tournament slip away on moving day. The second-round leader was two-over par through 15 holes after back-to-back bogeys. He rebounded in fine fashion, however, closing with three straight birdies to get himself back in red numbers for the day.
His biggest issue throughout the day came on the greens. He'd been lights-out with the putter through two rounds, which was a surprise since it's an area where he's struggled most of the campaign. Those problems returned for most of Saturday until the final holes.
Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel noted the early putting woes:
Kisner and Hoffman lead the rest of the field by three strokes heading into Sunday. It may be those stars a little further off the pace they should be most worried about, though.
McIlroy has battled through some inconsistency in recent years, but when he finds a groove, you could make the argument there's nobody better. He was locked-in Saturday, racking up seven birdies and no bogeys to slide into the top 10.
The PGA Tour highlighted one of several lasers he landed in birdie range:
The Tour also passed along his comments after the round:
Elsewhere, Fowler appeared out of contention after a double-bogey six on the third hole. Then he started playing nearly flawless golf. He navigated the remaining 15 holes in nine-under par, spearheaded by an eagle on No. 16 to finish his scoring binge.
The Golf Channel spotlighted his eagle putt, which made him six-under for a seven-hole stretch:
Looking ahead, one of two things will happen Sunday. Kisner and Hoffman will either pull away from the pack to make it a two-horse race for final holes, or they will fight just to tread water, like Hoffman and Emiliano Grillo did in the last group Saturday, and bring everyone else back into it.
If it's the latter, McIlroy will obviously be the player to watch. But Matthew Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose and Paul Casey are all lurking within striking distance, too. It could make for a wild final round if the co-leaders aren't able to slam the door shut early on.
