ORLANDO, Fla. – Fifty-four down, 18 to go. A little reflection, a little dissection as the Arnold Palmer Invitational heads into the final round:
- Of 52 previous 54-hole leads or co-leads on the PGA Tour, Woods has converted 48 into wins. His most recent 54-hole lead was the 2009 BMW Championship, which he won. Of 39 previous outright 54-hole leads, Woods has converted 37 into victory, only failing to convert at the 1996 Quad City Classic and 2009 PGA Championship.
- Woods currently owns 71 career PGA Tour victories. A win on Sunday would move him to within one of Jack Nicklaus for second place on the all-time list. Sam Snead tops that list with 82.
- Expect a softer Bay Hill course on Sunday. The weather forecast calls for widely scattered showers or an early thunderstorm. The high temperature will be around 85 degrees, with increasing winds of 15-25 mph.
- If Graeme McDowell – currently in second place – wins, it would mark the first time ever that European players won PGA Tour events for four consecutive weeks. The past three are Rory McIlroy (Honda Classic), Justin Rose (WGC-Cadillac Championship) and Luke Donald (Transitions Championship).
- Since the start of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 1966, only Fred Couples (1992) and Tiger Woods (2001 and 2002) have won the Masters and the Arnold Palmer Invitational in the same year. Since 1960, only six players have won an event within two weeks of winning the Masters: Phil Mickelson (2006), Tiger Woods (2001), Sandy Lyle (1988), Jack Nicklaus (1975), Gay Brewer (1967) and Gary Player (1961).
- If one of presenting sponsor MasterCard’s professional golf ambassadors wins the tournament, the company will donate an additional $200,000 to the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies in their name. Among the four ambassadors are Graeme McDowell in sole possession of second place and Ian Poulter, who is tied for third.
