New Delhi, India: Marc Leishman (AUS) 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. 

 

                         Leishman's late eagle helped seal victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday (source: USA Today Sports Images)

"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."

 

Anirban Lahiri failed to make it to the weekend round despite an even par 72 in the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Lahiri, who flew from India, where he was tied-fifth at the Hero Indian Open, shot rounds of 79 and 72 to crash out early at the limited field event.

As has happened often on the PGA Tour this season, Lahiri once again paid the price for letting go a lot of chances on the greens. Time and again he missed small putts and committed other errors that saw him run up a big score in the first round and he could not make up for it in the second round.

 

Anirban Lahiri shot rounds of 79 and 72 to crash out early at the limited field event (source: AP)
 

At seven-over 151, he was way down in the 120-player field at Bay Hill in a tournament where tributes poured in for ‘The King’, who passed away last year. The players as a tribute also carried Palmer’s logo, the coloured umbrella on their bags.
 

Meanwhile Charley Hoffman, in only his fourth appearance in the Arnold Palmer Invitational over the last decade, made seven birdies in slightly warmer conditions on Friday for a six-under 66 that gave him one-shot lead over Emiliano Grillo of Argentina. Hoffman was at 10-under 134.
 

Grillo made two eagles on his opening nine, holing a 35-yard bunker shot on the par-5 12th and chipping in from just off the green on the par-5 16th. He made birdies on the par 5s on the front nine that carried him to a 68.
 

Matt Fitzpatrick of England had four birdies on the back nine for a 69 and was two shots behind.
 

Sam Saunders, the 29-year-old grandson of Palmer, had three straight bogeys around the turn and never caught up. He wound up with another 74 and missed the cut by one shot.
 

The cut was three-over 147.
 

A day after Cody Gribble grabbed the tail of an 8-foot alligator and saw it scrambling into the lake, Smylie Kaufman didn’t see the alligator. He jumped back in fright when he spotted it. The alligator didn’t move.
 

Rory McIlroy shot 71 to finish at one-over 145, leaving him 11 shots out of the lead, while defending champion Jason Day had an eagle on the par-5 16th and is at three-under 141.