2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational Round 3 Betting and Showdown Picks

Mar 05, 2022

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Viktor Hovland took advantage of calmer morning conditions to shoot a sparkling 6-under 66, taking a two-shot lead heading into the weekend at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He gained 2.8 shots on approach and combined that with a round-leading 5.2 strokes gained putting. Compared to his opening round performance, Rory McIlroy struggled on the greens, losing 2.1 strokes with the flat stick. He sits two shots back, tied for second place with Tyrrell Hatton and Talor Gooch. For Hovland, it feels mighty similar to last year's event where he was 7-under through 36 holes, only to shoot 77-78 in tough weekend conditions, finishing in 49th place.

Saturday's hardening course conditions combined with blustery winds could lead to some carnage during the third round. Winds are forecast to be steady throughout at 10-15 MPH with gusts approaching 25 MPH. As players like McIlroy have noted, the greens on Friday were already playing ultra-firm and very similar to normal Sunday conditions at Bay Hill.

Weather Forecast

Post-Round 2 Player Quotes

*Quotes courtesy of ASAP Sports Transcriptions

RORY MCILROY: Those are the sort of greens you expect to see late on a Sunday, not late on a Friday. They'll be tricky. It's still you just have to land it on your spots with the right spin and the right trajectory. So you just have to be so, so precise whenever the greens get like this. Just puts even more of a premium on hitting the ball in the fairway so that you can put some spin on the ball to control it into these greens. It's going to be interesting to see where they go from here, but it's going to be a good test over the weekend. I'm glad I got 18 holes in those conditions because the course definitely changed a lot from when I played it yesterday morning to this afternoon. I'll be a little more prepared for it tomorrow. I think the course lends itself to guys who have grown up in conditions like Australia or like Europe where it gets firm and it gets tricky.

TYRRELL HATTON: I'm not particularly happy with how I hit the golf ball certainly the last few days. I think the score is pretty flattering. I've putted really good, which is why I've got the score that I have, but I know that I can't keep hitting it that badly certainly with it going to be playing much tougher this weekend. I've always putted well around here. I don't know what it is. I just seem to see the lines clearer than some of the other places that we go to.

TALOR GOOCH: I hit a bunch of fairways. As you all know, out here fairways are so crucial. You're praying for par if you don't hit fairways, and half the time when you do hit the fairways, you're still praying for par. If you're not hitting fairways, you don't have any chance. I hit a fair amount today, which gave us a chance. I don't know if they can get the greens any firmer or faster without it getting ridiculous. There would be a few players not too happy if that were the case. I was just saying the birdie fest weeks you can kind of fake it from tee to green, and then it becomes a putting contest. Here there's no faking it in any shape or form of the word fake. I mean, the cream rises, and it's going to expose you if you're not on your A-game.