Jason Day capitalized on the mistakes of others to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational wire-to-wire at the Bay Hill Lodge in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday.
Day, who took a two-stroke lead into the final round, trailed Kevin Chappell by one when he reached the par-3 17th hole. Day hit his tee shot to 12 feet of the hole and made his birdie putt.
Chappell, meanwhile, was playing the 18th hole and hit a poor tee shot into thick rough right of the fairway and eventually missed a 25-foot par putt, resulting in a two-shot swing that put Day back in the lead with one hole to play.
Day also missed the fairway at 18, hit his second shot into the back bunker, then got up and down for par and his eighth PGA Tour victory. The win moved him past Rory McIlroy and into No. 2 in the World Ranking.
“It means the world,” Day said, regarding winning Palmer’s tournament and the fact that Day’s childhood inspiration, Tiger Woods, had won the tournament eight times. “I had a text from Tiger this morning. I just ground it out today. It wasn’t the best day that I had. I was just able to get it done when I wasn’t quite on.”
Day won with a two-under par 70 and a 72-hole total of 16-under par 272. Chappell, still seeking his first PGA Tour victory, finished solo second, one stroke behind.
Troy Merritt, who was one shot back of Day and playing with him, hit his second shot into the water at 18, leading to a double bogey that ended his bid. Merritt and Stenson tied for third.
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