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SPORTS Saturday 9 March 2019
Fleetwood, Bradley tied for lead at Bay Hill

par-5 sixth for eagle. thing until the ball actually
The other was a Ping returns to Earth, but he had
7-wood that he took pos- a hunch on this one, and
session of on Tuesday, hit he was right. The ball land-
two shots and was sold ed just right and rolled out
on it. That replaced his to 6 feet behind the flag on
5-wood, the last Nike club the upper right shelf of the
he had. Fleetwood was 275 green.
yards to the hole on the “I couldn’t have got a
par-5 12th, and no sooner wedge as close as I actu-
was the ball in the air that ally hit it to that back right
caddie Ian Finnis said, pin,” Fleetwood said.
“Good shot.” He made that eagle putt,
Finnish never says such a too.q

Keegan Bradley lines up a putt on the ninth green during the second round of the Arnold Palmer
Invitational golf tournament Friday, March 8, 2019, in Orlando, Fla.
Associated Press
By DOUG FERGUSON elson was 10 shots worse Classic winner Keith Mitch-
AP Golf Writer than his opening round el and Billy Horschel led a
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Bay and posted a 78. He missed pack of players at 5-under
Hill provided a few dramat- the cut by one shot. 139. The group another
ic turnarounds, good news “It’s a penalizing course shot back included Masters
for Henrik Stenson, not so if you don’t hit very good champions Patrick Reed
much for Phil Mickelson. shots, and I hit some terrible and Bubba Watson, and
Through it all, Tommy Fleet- shots today,” Mickelson Eddie Pepperell, who is
wood and Keegan Bradley said. “That’s probably the playing a regular PGA Tour
kept a steady march of score I deserved.” event for the first time and
solid golf Friday and wound On the other side was got caught with his pants
up tied for the lead at the Stenson, who opened with up.
Arnold Palmer Invitational, a 77 and then headed Actually, Pepperell did
four shots clear of anyone to the range with swing that himself. He was all too
else going into the week- coach Pete Cowen. The proud to roll up his pant legs
end on a course that has former British Open cham- and show off his new socks,
been tough all week. pion responded with a 66, which have an image of
Fleetwood used two new an 11-shot improvement, Jack Nicklaus making his
clubs to produce two ea- that left him eight shots birdie putt at Augusta Na-
gles, which carried him to behind, though still a tee tional the year he won his
a 6-under 66. Bradley, with time Saturday.”A couple sixth Masters.
the renewed confidence of hockey sticks yesterday “Best round of the year,
of a player who last year and a 66 today. That was a and probably a decade
ended six years without a nice turnaround,” Stenson for me,” Pepperell said.
PGA Tour victory, made all said. “It seemed like I was Never mind that this is the
but one of his six birdies on hitting it good yesterday, tournament named after
the par 4s and had a 68. didn’t quite feel like I was in Jack’s rival. But it seemed
They were at 9-under 135, the same groove this morn- to work.
the highest score to lead ing in the warmup, and Fleetwood, a three-time
Bay Hill through 36 holes yeah, I still have to fight a winner on the European
since 2013. little bit out there.” Tour, is ready to take the
Tiger Woods wound up win- Even with a four-shot ad- next step by winning in
ning that year, which won’t vantage, Fleetwood and America, and he looked
be the case. Woods is Bradley have to be con- up to the task. Without an
home nursing a sore neck. cerned with more than equipment contract ever
That also was the last time themselves in the final since Nike got out of the
Mickelson was at Bay Hill, group. Bradley would know club business, the English-
and this trip lasted only two from experience. He was man is free to mix-and-
days. eight shots behind going match.
Mickelson hit a pair of hor- into the weekend in 2014 He had five brands of
rific drives — one out-of- and was the runner-up by equipment in his bag, and
bound, another into water one shot, mainly courtesy two new ones stood one.
he couldn’t see off the tee of Adam Scott’s troubled One is a Srixon 4-iron, which
at No. 8 — that led to dou- weekend. he hammered from 224
ble bogeys. With only one British Open champion yards over the corner of
birdie on his card, Mick- Francesco Molinari, Honda the lake to 18 feet on the