Rory makes run towards defending at Arnold Palmer Invitational

ORLANDO, Fla. – Rory McIlroy clearly has a sense of history when he plays at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard. In true Palmer like fashion McIlroy produced a couple of blitzes in his third round Saturday to walk off Bay Hill with a share of the lead. It comes a year after he birdied eight of his last 13 holes on Sunday to win the event. McIlroy’s 6-under 66 moved him to eight under for the week, good enough for top spot as the overnight leaders made the turn. The former FedExCup champion started the day seven shots back of Tommy Fleetwood and Keegan Bradley but shot out of the blocks like a rocket with four birdies in his opening six holes. While a bogey at the par-4 8th slowed his run McIlroy reinvigorated his title defense with three closing birdies in the final four holes. “Just what I needed,â€� McIlroy said of his round. “It’s really tough out there, difficult conditions, I definitely noticed a change in the golf course the last few holes, so with the leaders having to play another nine or 10 holes out there it’s going to be interesting to see where 8-under ends up at the end of the day. “I was more in control of my golf ball today, I hit more fairways, and because of that I gave myself more birdie chances and I converted a few of them. So I did everything I needed to do today to get myself back in the golf tournament and excited to have another chance tomorrow.â€� McIlroy came into the week with four top-5 finishes in his last four starts but hasn’t won since a year ago.

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