ORLANDO, Fla. – Jason Day turned his fortunes at just the right time Sunday by making a 12-foot birdie putt and then saving par from just under 100 feet away in a bunker to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

It was another great moment for Palmer, the 86-year-old tournament host who watched it unfold on the 18th green.

Day closed with a 2-under 70 for a one-shot victory over Kevin Chappell, who looked as if he might finally win in his 150th start on the PGA Tour. Chappell didn’t flinch the entire back nine until his tee shot was buried in deep rough on the 18th, forcing him to lay up. He hit wedge to 25 feet and was ready to putt when he heard the big roar when Day made birdie on the 17th to tie for the lead.

“Being honest, kind of had me rattled a little bit,” Chappell said. He left his par putt well short and made bogey for a 69.

The closing hole at Bay Hill was just as tough for Day.

With a one-shot lead after Chappell made bogey, Day took water out of play from the right rough and went well left of the green into a bunker, 95 feet away with water on the other side of the green. Day blasted out to 4 feet and made the par for his first victory of the year.

He moves to No. 2 in the world and will have a chance to overtake Jordan Spieth next week in the Dell Match Play.

“It means the world,” Day said of winning Palmer’s tournament. “I just ground it out. I got it done when I wasn’t quite on.”

Four players had at least a share of the lead on the back nine. Day was the last man standing.

Troy Merritt, four shots behind when he made the turn, ran off five straight birdies to catch the leaders, and then chipped in for par on the 17th to keep his hopes alive. But his approach on the 18th went into the water and he made double bogey for a 71.

Merritt tied for third with Henrik Stenson, who was tied for the lead until failing to save par on the 14th and then finding the water for bogey on the 16th. He also shot 71.

Day finished at 17-under 271.

Chappell was sick all week after catching a bug from his young son. He took the lead with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 16th, hit a tough bunker shot close on the 17th to save par. The shot that cost him was his tee shot, and the lie was so atrocious that the only question was where to lay up.

“I had a chance to win, and that’s all I can ask for,” Chappell said after his fourth runner-up finish on the PGA Tour, and second this season.

Rory McIlroy ended a wild week with his sixth double bogey – the most he has ever made in a PGA Tour event – along with two eagles and five birdies for a 65. He shot a 67 on Friday to make the cut. It was the 75s in the other two rounds that held him back.

“Pretty much every week there’s a lot of good golf in there, which you’ve seen on Friday and today,” he said. “I’m just making a lot of mistakes.”

Adam Scott, coming off two straight PGA Tour victories, played the 18th hole in 5 over on the weekend. He made double bogey on Sunday and still shot 69.

The four-man sprint required some help from Day early, and an improbable birdie run by Merritt after he made the turn.

Day twice made bogey on the par 5s – a poor chip on No. 4 and a shot into the water on No. 6 – and went from a two-shot lead to a two-shot deficit. But he got right back into the mix with a towering shot out of the rough on No. 9 at a pin guarded by a bunker, so high that it landed softly on the green and rolled to a foot for a tap-in birdie.

Merritt chopped his way to a double bogey on No. 9 to fall four shots behind, seemingly out of the mix until he began the back nine with four straight birdie putts, and then holing out from the bunker from 40 feet on No. 14 for his fifth straight birdie to share the lead.

Stenson was the only one who didn’t have a chance on the 18th.

Day said he received a text from eight-time Bay Hill winner Tiger Woods on Sunday morning. He has talked about how much he turns to Woods for advice on such things as protecting a 54-hole lead. And then he delivered a clutch moment to win.

“It’s obviously those things – one of many – why he’s been the No. 1 player in the world, and why I’m the 150th player in the world,” Chappell said. “You just can’t bogey the last when you’re in contention, and hats off to Jason. He played well, real clutch down the stretch. And I’ll learn from this and get better.”

Canada’s David Hearn started the day in a tie for 7th, but posted an even-round of 72 Sunday to drop into a tie for 20th at 7-under 281.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jason Day survived bursts of rain and a few bogeys for a 2-under 70 to keep his two-shot lead Saturday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The starting times were moved forward to avoid a forecast of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Players still had to cope with occasionally heavy rain, though Bay Hill held up nicely and so did the 28-year-old Australian.

He was at 15-under 201 and had a two-shot lead over Henrik Stenson (70), Troy Merritt (67) and Kevin Chappell (67).

Stenson took the lead with a 10-foot eagle on the par-5 sixth hole, only to find a plugged lie in the bunker on the next hole. Day regained the lead with a birdie at No. 8 and kept it the rest of the way.

Lurking near the top of the leaderboard but well back of the lead is Canada’s David Hearn. The Brantford, Ont., native is sitting at 7-under in a tie for 13th after a 71 on Saturday. Abbotsford, B.C., native Adam Hadwin had a 73 and is 2-under.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jason Day felt like he was bearing down on each shot. He made it look much easier Friday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Day made a pair of long birdie putts and otherwise put on a clinic at Bay Hill for a 7-under 65 that gave him a two-shot lead over Henrik Stenson going into the weekend.

“It was great,” he said. “I felt like I couldn’t do anything wrong out there.”

Day was at 13-under 131 and was five shots ahead of Jamie Lovemark (68) when he finished.

Stenson faced a daunting task – eight shots behind when he teed off in the afternoon – and he shot 31 on the back nine for a 66 to stay in the game. Justin Rose also had a 66 and was three shots behind.

“It’s motivating,” Stenson said of the deficit he faced. “You can’t let it be frustrating that you’re eight shots back. He played great, and you’ve just got to go and do the same, and I managed to do that.”

Day, Stenson and Rose will play together Saturday because tee times have been moved forward to avoid the threat of storms.

Rose wasn’t bothered to see Day so far ahead. His objective was to take care of the par 5s and keep a clean card, and he did both. Rose is now 9 under on the eight par 5s he has played this week. And he was bogey-free on Friday.

“Yesterday was a colorful scorecard,” Rose said of an opening round that included two eagles and a double bogey. “Today, a little bit more solid.”

Day was driving it long and straight, hitting his irons well and making big putts. It’s a great combination for anyone, particularly a player who reached No. 1 in the world last year by winning four out of six tournaments, including his first major.

Canada’s David Hearn fired a 5-under 67 to get to 6-under for the championship. The Brantford, Ont., native is 7-shots back of Day and tied for 11th.

Rory McIlroy was able to watch the whole show.

McIlroy, who opened with a 75, was in the group behind Day and saw the Australian start to pull away from the field. McIlroy had his own issues on Friday, starting with a chance to play for two more days. He handled that with ease, making four birdies on the back nine to get above the cut line and posting a 67.

But he was all but ready to concede that the tournament was out of his reach.

“I was looking at Jason in front of me and I was thinking if I could maybe get within six going into the weekend,” McIlroy said. “And now it’s 11. … Even playing well, I’m not sure that’s quite going to be enough that far behind Jason. At the same time I can get confidence from that and bring it on to the next week and ultimately into the Masters.”

Stanford junior Maverick McNealy, chosen to play by his colleagues at the Palmer Cup, had a 71 and was at 4-under 140. It’s the second straight week that an amateur has made the cut; Georgia senior Lee McCoy finished fourth last week in the Valspar Championship.

U.S. Amateur champion Bryson DeChambeau shot another 72 and made the cut on the number at even-par 144.

Day, however, appeared to be in his own world on the immaculate Bay Hill course.

A pair of two-putt birdies on the par 5s on the back nine helped him extend his lead, and he added a 35-foot birdie putt on the 17th. It was after Day had to scramble for par on the par-5 fourth hole, making a 10-foot putt, that he took off. He rolled in a 10-foot birdie on the next hole, got up-and-down from a bunker for birdie on the par-5 sixth and finished his round with a 35-foot birdie on the ninth hole.

“The total that he’s on now, 13 under, I thought that was going to have a great chance at the end of the week,” McIlroy said. “I thought something around 12 under was going to be right there. For him to do that after two days is pretty spectacular. I think everyone has got their work cut out to try and catch him.”

The timing is good for Day, who had a sluggish start to the year after taking three months off at the end of 2015. He has only Bay Hill and the Dell Match Play next week before the Masters, and he thought it would be helpful to at least feel the pressure of contention before Augusta National.

Stenson could be the guy to provide it.

He thought he had Bay Hill won last year until bogeys late in his round. He was still seven shots back Friday when he made the turn and was close to flawless. Stenson had two-putt birdies on both par 5s, made a 5-foot birdie on the 10th and a 15-foot birdie putt on the 14th. The only green he missed was on the 17th hole, and he finished with a 20-foot birdie on the 18th.

“There’s a lot of intimidating shots,” Stenson said. “You’ve got to be clear on what you want to do and try and execute them well.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal will not play in the Masters for health reasons that have kept him from competing for an entire year.

He did not specify his health problems on Friday, only that tests show “some improvement.”

“I am sorry to announce that I’m unable to attend this year as I am not feeling well,” Olazabal said in a statement. “The Masters is very special to me, and walking up Magnolia Lane gives me a peace of mind like nowhere else.”

The 50-year-old Spaniard won the Masters in 1994 and 1999. His second green jacket, which he won over Greg Norman, followed a debilitating ailment in his foot that he feared would end his career. Olazabal is in the World Golf Hall of Fame, and he was the winning Ryder Cup captain for Europe four years ago.

But he has not played a tournament since he shot 71 in the second round at the Masters a year ago and missed the cut.

“It’s been very tough being at home these last few months doing nothing,” Olazabal said. “Now I’m feeling better. I hit a bucket of balls every morning and spend 45 minutes on the putting green. I practice for about three hours. I don’t set myself goals or dates. Time will tell.”

Olazabal said he has regular tests that show improvement, “but the main thing is to get rid of pain.”

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jason Day felt he was playing better. He finally had a score to show for it Thursday at Bay Hill.

Day one-putted his last seven holes, including a 10-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th to take the lead and two tough par saves at the end for a 6-under 66 and a one-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Among those one shot behind was Adam Scott, which was no surprise. Scott is the hottest player in golf, coming off two straight victories at the Honda Classic and the Cadillac Championship at Doral, and he played bogey-free in benign weather and on a course where no blade of grass seems to be out of place.

Day hasn’t played enough to have serious problems with his game, though he missed the cut at Torrey Pines and finished a combined 35 shots out of the lead in the other three tournaments he entered this year. In the five tournaments since his last victory in September, he hasn’t finished within seven shots of the lead.

“There was no sense of urgency at all for me, really,” Day said. “I just kept on saying, ‘Just make sure you stay patient and things will happen, it will happen.’ I just got to make sure I get the reps under my belt and hope it will work. This is one good round, one good round in the right direction. … So that helps.”

Rory McIlroy made a pair of double bogeys and opened with a 75, leaving him in danger of missing his second straight cut against a full field.

He hit his opening tee shot out-of-bounds and made his other double bogey with a shot into the water on No. 8. McIlroy hit two other shots into the water and escaped with par, and he made par putts of 10 feet, 15 feet and 25 feet.

“It probably could have been a few worse,” McIlroy said. “I end up shooting this. I’ll get some good work done on the range tonight and come out tomorrow and play a good round of golf to get myself into the red numbers, at least be here for the weekend (and) I can make a charge.”

Henrik Stenson, Marc Leishman, Brendan Steele and Troy Merritt also were at 67. The group at 68 included the resurgent K.J. Choi and Justin Rose, who made two eagles.

Canada’s Adam Hadwin was a shot back after a 69, while compatriot David Hearn opened with a 71. The pair are the only Canadians in the field this week.

Day doesn’t have a great history in his limited time at Bay Hill. Going into Thursday, he had broken 70 only three times in 14 rounds, nothing lower than 68. He only had one bad swing, a tee shot that soared right and out of bounds on the ninth hole for a double bogey. But he played the last seven holes in 5 under, including the 6-iron he hit to within 10 feet on 16.

Equally satisfying were the par saves from the bunker on the par-3 17th, where he blasted out to 5 feet, and a par on the final hole when he chipped to 10 feet.

Day has Bay Hill and the Dell Match Play next week before preparing for the Masters.

“I’m just trying to win a tournament right now,” Day said. “I’m really thinking about this week and not trying to think about too far ahead with what’s coming up with the Match Play and obviously Augusta. It’s good to shoot the score that I did today because it does a lot for my confidence, and I’m just hoping that I can keep it going for the next three days after this.”

Scott wasn’t sure if he hit the ball badly, or it just seemed like that because the way he has been playing.

“I hit so many good shots the last few weeks,” he said. “Didn’t hit terribly bad shots today. My short game was there. That’s the kind of days you’re almost most satisfied with are days like today when you shoot your lowest.”

But he doesn’t suspect that will last, especially with the course in such great shape and so many scores in the 60s.

“On one day, that’s OK,” he said. “But I’m going to have to sharpen up, I think, to contend this week. The course is so pure, conditions are really good. Someone who is hitting it good is going to make a lot of putts because the greens are rolling pure. If you can get it inside 20 feet you’re feeling like you’re going to make everything.”

ORLANDO, Fla. – The PGA of America says it will no longer hold the PGA Grand Slam of Golf for the year’s major champions.

The event began in 1979 and was played continuously from 1986 until last year. It was scheduled to be held at Trump National in Los Angeles, and the PGA of America decided to cancel it because of all the attention on Donald Trump’s remarks about Mexican immigrants when he announced his campaign for president.

The PGA of America says the event no longer fits into the golf landscape because of the PGA Tour’s wraparound season and players involved in more than one tour.

It also says the Grand Slam has struggled to attract fans and media interest.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Arnold Palmer will be on the first tee to help start the Masters this year – but without his golf clubs.

Palmer said Tuesday he has told Augusta National he will not be hitting the ceremonial tee shot to start the Masters this year. Palmer, a four-time Masters champion, has had that role since 2007. Jack Nicklaus joined him in 2010 and Gary Player was added in 2012.

The 86-year-old Palmer is slowing down. He did not have a news conference at his Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. Instead, he answered questions that were submitted last week by the golf media.

Palmer says he would love to hit the ceremonial shot forever, but he can’t hit the drive the way he would like.

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Charl Schwartzel used two big birdies to close with a 4-under 67 and made up a five-shot deficit. All he needed was a par on the first hole of a playoff Sunday at Innisbrook to beat Bill Haas and win the Valspar Championship.

Schwartzel’s two-putt par on the 18th hole in a playoff gave him his third victory worldwide in his last six starts dating to December.

Haas, who never trailed over the final 27 holes of regulation, hit his tee shot into the trees in the playoff, came up short into a bunker and blasted long out of the soft sand to 20 feet. He missed the par putt, and Schwartzel tapped in for his first victory in America since the 2011 Masters.

The loudest cheers belonged to Lee McCoy, the senior at Georgia who grew up next to Innisbrook and made good on his first sponsor’s exemption. Playing alongside Jordan Spieth, McCoy shot 69 to finish alone in fourth.

It was the best finish by an amateur in a PGA Tour event of top players since 17-year-old Justin Rose tied for fourth at the British Open in 1998 at Royal Birkdale. Robbie Shelton tied for third last year in the Barbasol Championship, held opposite the British Open.

McCoy would have earned $292,800 had he been a pro.

“It’s surreal to say the least,” McCoy said.

Spieth fell behind early, never caught up and closed with a 73 to tie for 18th, seven shots behind. He couldn’t help but applaud McCoy when he finished his round.

Schwartzel was the only player who put any sustained pressure on Haas, and he made his move with a 65-foot birdie putt across the green on the par-3 13th hole. He got up-and-down from a tough lie in the bunker for birdie on the 14th, made a tough par save from the edge of a bunker on the 16th and rolled in a 25-foot putt on the 17th.

He posted at 7-under 277.

Haas had a two-shot lead with three holes to play and had made tough par saves to stay in front. It finally caught up with him when he made bogey from the bunker on the 16th hole, and he closed with two pars for a 72.

With more swirling wind on the Copperhead course, Schwartzel and McCoy were the only players to break par from the last nine groups.

“I think everyone’s goal is to keep bogeys off the card,” Schwartzel said when he finished his regulation round. “You’re just surviving.”

That wasn’t easy to do.

Steve Stricker was two shots out of the lead until he made a double bogey on the par-5 11th and never recovered. Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., starting the final round one shot behind in second and determined to get his first PGA Tour victory, never made a birdie in his round of 75.

“Obviously you can’t be in contention putting the way that I did today,” said DeLaet. “It’s disappointing. I was actually pretty proud of myself. I hit the ball really well. I kept trying all day long, I mean I just kept telling myself it was going to happen, it was going to happen. Never did, but, you know, I’m proud of the effort that I put in. Didn’t happen today.”

Ryan Moore hit the ball great and couldn’t figure out the greens, which were slower than normal. Moore was within one shot of the lead at the turn, but he closed with 12 straight pars for a 71 to finish two shots out of the playoff in third place.

It also was a tough day for Ian Poulter, who had a 75-75 weekend and tied for 67th.

That bumped Poulter down to No. 67 in the world ranking, which could knock him out of the Dell Match Play. This was the final week before the world ranking is used to determine the 64-man field (Jim Furyk and Henrik Stenson are not playing). PGA Tour rookie Patton Kizzire closed with a 72 and tied for 33rd, enough to move past Poulter.

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Bill Haas took a swing tip from his father on Tuesday and converted into a 54-hole lead at the Valspar Championship.

Haas atoned for a three-putt bogey on the 13th by chipping in for birdie from behind the 15th green on his way to a 4-under 67 on Saturday at Innisbrook, giving him a one-shot lead over Graham DeLaet of Canada going into the final round.

Jay Haas, a nine-time PGA Tour winner and the Presidents Cup captain the last two times, had a week off from the PGA Tour Champions and spent three days with his son. It was on the par-5 fifth hole during a practice round that the father suggested Haas use a more abbreviated follow on his swing to get his hands moving fasters.

It seems to have worked.

On a Copperhead course that has yet to yield a round lower than 66, Haas put together his second straight 67 to reach 8-under 205.

DeLaet, who is now sporting a beard that would make Old Tom Morris proud, pounded a shot out of the rough and over the water to 3 feet on the par-5 14th for an eagle that shot him up the leaderboard, and he finished with a 68 to get into the last group.

“It’s tough to win out here and I know that,” said the Weyburn, Sask., native. “Got a good opportunity tomorrow and I just need to play good golf and should have a chance.”

It’s still up in the grabs on Sunday because of the nature of Innisbrook, which takes shots away more often than it gives up birdies. Six players were within four shots of the lead, and even Jordan Spieth believes he is still in the mix.

Spieth, who opened his title defence with a 76, made the cut with one shot to spare on Friday and moved into a tie for ninth on Saturday with a bogey-free 67 in which he holed a long eagle putt and made a pair of key par saves coming in.

“To think after the first round that I go Saturday night be able to sleep with a chance to win the golf tournament, I’m very pleased with that,” Spieth said.

Charley Hoffman (67) and Ryan Moore (69) were three shots behind.

Charles Howell III holed a bunker shot for birdie on No. 12 only to three-putt from 70 feet on the closing hole for a 70. He was four shots behind, though still has a reasonable chance to win and earn a return to the Masters, which motivates the Augusta, Georgia, native this time of the year.

He was amazed to still be this close to the lead.

“This course continues to surprise me in that it just doesn’t give up good scores,” Howell said. “What am I? Tied for fifth? I would have thought the lead would be 10 or 12 under, and more than one guy there. But maybe that’s just me getting my head beat in.”

Steve Stricker, who shared the 36-hole lead with Will MacKenzie, didn’t make another birdie after the fifth hole and had to settle for a 72. He also was 4-under 209, along with Patrick Reed (68), whom Spieth beat in a playoff last year at Innisbrook.

In the group with Spieth was Lee McCoy, the Georgia senior who ran off five straight birdies around the turn and was headed for a rare low score at Innisbrook until he put his tee shot in the water on the 16th and took double bogey. He still shot a 66 and was six shots behind, and he gets to play the final round with Spieth.

Spieth is the defending champion. McCoy knows the course even better. He grew up near Innisbrook, describing his house as a par 5 away from the course. He played Saturday with Gary Woodland, and McCoy told him that he was in the gallery when Woodland won five years ago.

They will be chasing Haas, who is coming off a big moment in his career last October when he won the decisive point in the Presidents Cup with his father as captain. It hasn’t carried over, at least not yet. Haas has a pair of top 10s this year, though he has not seriously contended.

“Half of it is these guys are really good,” Haas said. “I’m trying to beat some really good players and they’re beating me right now. I just haven’t been sharp. When the Presidents Cup was won, being in the last match and handling some pressure, that was a great stepping stone for me. Hopefully, it will lead to better things. But I’ve still got to play well tomorrow.”

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Canada’s Graham DeLaet fired a 5-under par 66 Friday to climb 43 spots up the leaderboard at the Valspar Championship. DeLaet is 4-under par and has a share of third.

Jordan Spieth holed three shots from off the green and made the cut with one shot to spare.

Now DeLaet and Spieth have to figure out how to catch up to Steve Stricker and Will MacKenzie.

Stricker, playing for only the fifth time this year, holed out from the 10th fairway for eagle and made a 60-foot birdie putt across the fourth green for a 5-under 66 that gave him a share of the lead with MacKenzie, who had a 67.

They were at 5-under 137, one shot ahead of DeLaet (66), Bill Haas (67)  and Daniel Berger (68).

Spieth is just happy to be joining them. He opened with a 76 and was in danger of missing the cut, especially when the wind began to pick up just as he was starting his second round on the Copperhead course at Innisbrook.

And then he hooked his tee shot on the par-5 opening hole into a bush, had to take a penalty shot and made bogey on the easiest hole on the course.

“I’m walking off that green going, ‘Oh, boy. We can either somehow flip this one around today or … I don’t want that to be the key of me not being able to be here for the weekend.’ I thought it was really strong what we did after that,” he said.

Nearly five hours later, after he nearly holed a bunker shot on the 17th to save par, Spieth exhaled on the 18th tee and said with a smile, “This was grinding today. I’ve got some good stuff coming on the weekend.”

He wound up with a 68 and was at 2-over 144 to make the cut by one shot. That’s all he was thinking about until he chipped in from behind the green on the 15th for a birdie, and his tee shot on the 16th narrowly cleared the water.

It was hard work, and there is plenty left.

More than just trying to make up seven shots on the weekend, he had 42 players in front of him.

Stricker began to cut back on his schedule a few years ago, and he had back surgery at the end of 2014 that limited his playing even more. But the strength is starting to return to the 49-year-old with the pure putting stroke, and he has looked solid for two days.

Stricker was tied for the lead early on Thursday until three straight bogeys late in his round. This time, he took the eagle and keep running, adding a short birdie putt on the par-5 14th and a 10-foot birdie on the 16th hole to catch MacKenzie.

“There are times I escaped with a few good breaks,” Stricker said. “Holing out on 10, you don’t expect to do that. And that putt at No. 4 was going pretty quick, and that ended up going in. So some things evidently went my way. I’m starting to play a little better. Definitely putting better. And slowly, things are coming together.”

The large group at 3-under 139 included Justin Thomas, who hit a sharp slice to escape the trees on his first hole of the day (No. 10) and turned potential bogey into birdie on his way to a 67. Also at 139 were Augusta, Georgia, native Scott Brown (69), who has yet to play the Masters; past champion Retief Goosen and Charles Howell III, another Augusta native who had a 72.

Only eight shots separated the top and bottom of the leaderboard, leaving the weekend wide open.

Among those missing the cut were Keegan Bradley, who followed his 67 with a 79. The five other Canadians in the field also failed to advance to the weekend.