Talor Gooch and Billy Horschel began the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational tied for the lead at Bay Hill but neither man ever really looked like winning. Gooch set the tone for his day with bogeys at the first two holes and Horschel bogeyed the second and third holes. Gooch shot 43 on the front nine and Horschel 40.
Pre-event 19.018/1 chance, Viktor Hovland, who was in search of his fourth win in eight starts, had been matched at 1.684/6 on Saturday when he went four clear after eight holes of his third round he looked the most likely winner on numerous occasions.
Hovland was matched at odds-on on four separate occasions over the weekend but Saturday's 40 on the back-nine and his poor bunker play (3-for-11 in sand saves) ultimately cost him the title. Like Horschel, he came up a shot shy.
The 2020 winner, Tyrrell Hatton, who'd himself posted a front nine 40 on Saturday, set the clubhouse target of four-under-par and he was matched at a low of 5.04/1 as punters pondered whether that might be enough but in the end it wasn't and he finished the week alongside Horschel and Hovland in a tie for second. All three will see this as a title that should have won but Gary Woodland will be hurting the most today.
Woodland, generally a 100.099/1 chance before the off, and an in-play pick at 23.022/1 yesterday morning, hit the front when he eagled the par five 16th and he was matched at a low of 1.75/7 but he followed that with a double-bogey at the par three 17th and a bogey at the last to finish tied for fifth alongside Dave Tindall's 66/1 each-way pick, Chris Kirk, and for the second time in three starts, pre-event 25.024/1 shot, Scottie Scheffler, finished the week in front.
We looked all set for the first playoff at Bay Hill since 1999 but Scheffler scrambled brilliantly, posting a one-under-par 35 on the back nine to win by a stroke.
The win lifts Scheffler up to number five in the world and as a result, the top-five are all under the age of 30 for the first time since the official rankings were introduced in 1986.
Having played 70 PGA Tour events without success, Scheffler has now won two of his last three tournaments and the two victories were remarkable similar.
Off the pace Scottie strikes again
Sitting in a tie for 44th, he trailed by nine at halfway at TPC Scottsdale last month, where he was matched at a high of 300.0299/1 and he was matched at a high of 420.0419/1 here when he trailed by eight at halfway.
The margins are so narrow, and a little bit of fortune is needed to win from that far back, whether it's the misfortune of others of the luck of your own.
Had Woodland's tee on 17 been hit fractionally firmer he'd have landed on the green and probably two-putted for par and the big turning point for Scheffler was this remarkable par at 15. His third shot after a poor drive and a shabby shot from behind a tree came very close to finding the greenside bunker.
The week's other two events weren't anywhere near as dramatic but I still very much enjoyed the Kenya Open...
One of my Find Me a 100 Winner selections, 140.0139/1 chance, Marcus Kinhult, was matched at a low of 3.711/4 when he hit the front when he chipped in for birdie at the sixth, after his playing partner, Ewen Ferguson, a pre-event 250.0249/1 shot, started slowly but it wasn't to be for either man in the end.
Ferguson had led by four with a round to go and he was matched at a low of 1.9310/11 but both men endured a rocky ride on Sunday and both finished tied for eighth, beaten by seven!
Pre-event 80.079/1 chance, Ashun Wu, who was matched at a high of 130.0129/1, tied for the lead with this snaking birdie putt at the ninth (his third in-a-row) and he kicked on impressively after that to win by four.
As highlighted in the In-Play blog, I thought pre-event 65.064/1 chance, Ryan Brehm, who was matched at high of 70.069/1, looked a bit vulnerable in front with a round to go at the Puerto Rico Open but he was incredibly impressive, firing a five-under par 67 to win by six!
McIlroy melts away again
Rory McIlroy is a standing dish in the first round leader markets. After his flying start on Thursday he's now led after round one in three of his last eight tournaments and in 31 events altogether but his record when leading after round one is deplorable of late.
He hasn't gone on to win when leading or co-leading after round one since 2014 and he's been beaten on the last 12 occasions he's led or co-led after the opening round. He finished 10th at the Arnold Palmer last year, having led after round one and he couldn't even manage that this time around, eventually finishing tied for 13th.
He's had a good ole moan about the conditions, which were gloriously tough, but punters that backed him in the place markets at long odds-on are probably grumbling even more.
Rory was matched at 2.727/4 to win the event, he hit a low of 1.528/15 to finish inside the top-five and he was backed all the way down to 1.021/50 to finish inside the top-ten!
He remains one to take on in-running whenever the conditions deteriorate and the going gets tough and he's an excellent back-to lay vehicle at courses he's shown a liking to previously.
We've got a brand-new event on the DP World Tour to look forward to this week - the MyGolfLife Open in South Africa and the magnificent Players Championship on the PGA Tour. I'll be back later today or tomorrow with the previews.
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