Tyrrell Hatton of England survived a hiccup early on the back nine and nursed his lead all the way to the finish in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Hatton closed with a 2-over-par 74 and held off Marc Leishman of Australia by one stroke to claim his first PGA Tour victory by one stroke in more windy conditions at Bay Hill Resort and Lodge www.bayhill.com in Orlando, Fla.
“I thought I played my way out of it when I made double(-bogey) on 11,” said Hatton, who claimed his eighth professional victory, including four on the European Tour. “Then I saw a scoreboard on, I think, 14 green and I was a little bit surprised.
“It’s hard to explain, but it’s an incredible feeling. It was such a hard day out there. To hold on and win here at such an iconic venue is overwhelming. I’m just over the moon.”
The 28-year-old Hatton made two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine, and finished with seven straight pars after his double-bogey 6 at No. 11 to post a winning score of 4-under 284 in the difficult conditions.
Leishman, who won at Bay Hill in 2017, made a double-bogey 6 on the third hole before getting back into the hunt with four birdies. He got to with one stroke with the last of those from seven feet at No. 16, but could only par the last two holes to shoot 73 and fall one short.
Sungjae Im of South Korea, who earned his first PGA Tour victory last week in the Honda Classic, was two shots behind in solo third after his own 73, followed one more back by Bryson DeChambeau of Clovis, who made four birdies in the last seven holes for a 71.
Top-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, who won the API in 2018, made two double bogeys in a 76 and wound up four strokes down in a tie for fifth with Joel Dahmen and Keith Mitchell, who both shot 71, and Danny Lee of New Zealand, who finished at 75.
Matthew Fitzpatrick of England carded the low score of the day at 69 and was five shots back in a tie for ninth with Collin Morikawa of La Canada Flintridge and Cal, who wound up at 73, Sung Kang of South Korea, who finished at 74, and Harris English, who came in at 76.
Ninth-ranked Patrick Reed closed with a 71 to tie for 15th, 2017 Bay Hill winner Rickie Fowler of Murrieta tied for 18th after a 74 and third-ranked Brooks Koepka bounced back from an 81 with a 71 to tie for 47th.
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