Morikawa leaps into lead heading into final round at Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard

ORLANDO, Fla. – Collin Morikawa went without a victory last season for the first time in his PGA TOUR career, but the 28-year-old two-time major championship winner finds himself in position to get back to top of the podium once again, holding a one-stroke lead heading into the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.
 
Morikawa shot 5-under-par 67 Saturday and leapt to the top of the leaderboard on a volatile moving day at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge. Thanks to a card that showed just one bogey against six birdies, the six-time PGA TOUR winner will sleep on the 54-hole lead at 10-under-par.
 
“I’m very pleased,” Morikawa said. “I could easily go back and say I left a couple birdie putts out there on a couple holes, but for the most part it was fairly stress-free.”
 
Morikawa was asked whether not winning last year made him impatient and caused him to press at all. He finished second to open the season at The Sentry, and last year had seven top-5 finishes.
 
“I’ve gone longer, but, honestly, I look back at last year and it never felt like I had my game to just go out and just play golf,” he explained. “I felt like I was always kind of, you show up on Sunday, and not that I was guessing, but you still were fighting something and trying to just make it work. It’s hard to win like that. I would say the guys that are winning on a constant basis, they’re playing free, and that’s how I’m going to go out tomorrow.”
 
Four-time PGA TOUR winner Russell Henley is one stroke behind Morikawa, while two-time winner Corey Conners is at 8-under and 2016 API winner Jason Day lurks at 7-under. Michael Kim and Tony Finau are tied for fifth at 5-under par.
 
Second-round leader Shane Lowry had an adventurous round that featured two double bogeys and a score of 76, though he remains within six shots of the lead. Rory McIlroy, the 2018 API champion, is tied for 10th at 3-under par, and defending champion Scottie Scheffler is tied for 13th at 2-under par.
 
Henley jump-started his third round with a stretch of four straight birdies from holes 10-13.
 
“I feel like I’m playing the best I’ve ever played, and it all feels a little bit like icing,” Henley said. “I’m just very comfortable with what I’m doing, I’m confident. But I’m also don’t feel like I’m pressing too hard. I feel like we have a lot of golf to be played this year and just trying to get a little better each week.”
 
Conners said the key to his round was keeping things simple.
 
“I felt like I drove the ball pretty well, and I got the ball in the fairway when I needed to,” he said. “I hit a lot of solid irons shots today, giving myself birdie looks. It’s not very easy out there, and you’ve got to stay really patient and not really force anything. So felt like I did a good job of that today. Just being patient, that’s a big key.”
 
The Arnold Palmer Invitational features a purse of $20 million, with $4 million and 700 FedExCup points awarded to the 2025 champion.