Mar 19, 2017 4 min read

ORLANDO, Fla. – Marc Leishman holed a 50-foot eagle putt on the 16th hole to take the lead Sunday, and he stayed there with two tough pars at the end to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational and earn a trip to the Masters.

In a final hour that featured four players having at least a share of the lead, Leishman is the only one who didn’t blink.

His final act was a pitch-and-run from 45 yards away on the closing hole at Bay Hill that ran out to 3 feet. He calmly made the par putt for a 3-under 69 and one-shot victory over Kevin Kisner and Charley Hoffman.

The only thing missing was a handshake from the King. This was the first Arnold Palmer Invitational since the September death of the beloved tournament host.

“You see guys win and he’s waiting there on the back of the green,” Leishman said. “And to not have that is obviously very sad, but to win here is just a dream come true.”

Rory McIlroy had as good a chance as anyone, storming into a share of the lead by hooking a wedge around a tree, over the water and over the green on the 16th, then nearly holing the eagle chip.

He had a 30-foot birdie putt to tie for the lead on the 18th, and after seeing that Leishman had made eagle on the 16th, gave it a good run. The putt went 8 feet by and three-putt for a 69 to finish two shots back.

“These things happen,” McIlroy said. “But I’m pleased with how I went. Ten under for the weekend around here is good scoring, and I can take a lot of positives from it going into next week.”

Kisner and Hoffman also squandered away their chances.

Kisner had a three-shot lead at the turn, but failed to made another birdie the rest of the way. His lead began slipping away when Kisner missed the green on the par-5 12th with a sand wedge, pitched over the other side of the green and took bogey. He closed with a 73.

“I had it right there in the palm of my hand to win, and I didn’t get it done,” Kisner said.

Hoffman rallied from a 39 on the front nine to catch Kisner for the lead, only to three-putt for par on the 16th and then drop another shot from the bunker on the 17th. He made birdie on the 18th that gave him a tie for second.

“Proud of fighting back and making a birdie on the last to finish second, but obviously not what I wanted,” Hoffman said.

Locally, Steve Wheatcroft shot a final rount 75 and tied for 56th. He made $19,401.

Inkster shoots 64 in final round: LPGA Tour Commissioner Mike Whan gave Juli Inkster a hug after her closing 8-under 64 Sunday in the Founders Cup. She jokingly recoiled when he addressed her as “playing captain.”

The 56-year-old Inkster is preparing to captain her second U.S. Solheim Cup team and wants no part of a dual role in August in Iowa, though she still loves to play and compete on the tour and showed again she has the game to keep up with much younger players. The 64 was her lowest round on tour since also shooting 64 in the third round of the 2003 Evian Masters.

“I like the challenge of getting better and playing,” Inkster said. “I don’t know if that makes sense, but I really enjoy playing golf. I really enjoy practicing and I really enjoy working on my game, especially when you have days like this where things come together and it works out.

“Just got to learn how to put the four rounds together again. I really like the direction I’m going. I’ve been working with a guy named Jeff Brehaut. He’s a friend of mine and he’s been good for me.”

Inkster has won seven major championships and 31 overall LPGA Tour titles, the last in 2006. She made the last her nine Solheim Cup appearances as a player in 2011.

Coming off a Legends Tour victory two weeks ago in Sun City West, the Hall of Famer finished at 16-under 272 at Desert Ridge. She opened with rounds of 65, 73 and 70.

Anna Nordqvist had the lead making the turn at press time. She was at 24 under.