Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy shot matching 65s to move into contention at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday.
Fowler was -9 for his last 15 holes, including a near holeout from the water and a back nine 30, as he moved up 47 places to a share of 11th place.
World number three McIlroy is -6 after three rounds, one ahead of Fowler after a 65 of his own on Saturday. The Northern Irishman made seven birdies, five on the back nine, and no bogeys to move nicely up the leaderboard.
The pair will hope to repeat their efforts on Sunday as they look to chase down Charley Hoffman and Kevin Kisner.
An unlikely birdie on the last hole gave Hoffman a share of the 54-hole lead at -11. He missed his tee shot left, then hit a punch shot that stopped just short of the green. He estimates his 71-foot birdie putt had 12 feet of break, but it went in the hole for an unlikely birdie. It was Hoffman’s third-consecutive birdie, and gave him a 71 after a tough start. He estimates that the odds of holing that shot were less than 5 percent.
‘I’m just trying to get it down in two and go into Sunday one back, to be completely honest,’ said Hoffman, who began the day with the lead, but made bogey on the first two holes.
Hoffman was a late addition to the Arnold Palmer Invitational field, committing to the tournament, after a missed cut at last week’s Valspar Championship caused him to fall out of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. This is his fourth appearance here; he’s made the cut once only, finishing 59th.
Hoffman is joined at the top by Kisner, a player who saw his own turnaround coming.
‘I told my caddie at (The Honda Classic), “In about a month I think I’m going to be able to do this on the golf course,”‘ Kisner said after shooting 68 on Saturday. Kisner shares the 54-hole lead with Charley Hoffman at Bay Hill as they sit three shots ahead of Marc Leishman and Englishmen Matthew Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton.
Louis Oosthuizen is T24 after a third round 71 which was marred by two bogeys and a double at 12. Fellow South African Charl Schwartzel is one shot further back in T33 after shooting par on Saturday.
