EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF AT ARNOLD'S PLACE

By Torleif Sorenson on 3/23/15

The 2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational probably will be remembered for some amazing performances by some interesting personalities.

Morgan Hoffman, whose grandmother had passed away on Thursday morning, shot 66 and 65 to lead the field by three at the 36-hole cut. But surging up the board were Matt Every (last year's champion), Henrik Stenson, Ben Martin, Matt Jones, Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat, and Jason Kokrak. Two consecutive 66s gave Stenson the lead after 54 holes.

Bay Hill has hosted Arnold Palmer's tournament since 1979 — and had never given up an albatross in all these years. Until this weekend, that is. Daniel Berger holed out a 4-iron from 237 at the par-5 sixth hole on Saturday. Then on Sunday, Zach Johnson scored another albatross from 207 yards at the par-5 16th.

Sunday proved frustrating for Henrik Stenson, who was put on the clock at the 15th hole for slow play, had his putter go cold with two three-putts with time running out, and coughed up his 54-hole two-shot lead.

For Matt Every, the past year has been a roller coaster. He won the API last year, but after that the magic seemed gone and he was physically worn out, chalking up a half-dozen MCs and a WD. Every became a client of trainer Craig Davies in order to get physically better and have more endurance. Then, when Tiger Woods and instructor Sean Foley famously went their separate ways, Foley took on Every.

The result was a Sunday 66, tying Zach Johnson for low round of the day. An especially sharp iron game and some long putts boosted him up the leaderboard; Every was the first man to get to -19 — and proved to be the only one who could stay there.

Both of Every's two PGA Tour victories have come at Bay Hill. With his victory on Sunday, Every jumps from 96th to 40th in the Official World Golf Ranking. With coaching and training from Foley and Davies, Every looks primed to remain firmly in the upper reaches of the OWGR.


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