Arnold Palmer Invitational 2015: Tee times, pairings for Saturday’s round at Bay Hill

For the first time this year on the PGA Tour, Rory McIlroy looked like the No. 1 player in the world. McIlroy shot up the Arnold Palmer Invitational leaderboard on Friday morning, posting a 6-under 66 to move 26 spots up the board and into a tie for sixth when darkness fell at Bay Hill.

In two previous starts on the Florida swing, McIlroy hit an array of loose shots and looked far from the player who started the year dominating the Euro Tour over in the Middle East. He posted a win and a second-place finish in those two starts, smoothly carrying over the form from last year that made him the clear No. 1 in the world. It looked like nothing would put a stop to his momentum rolling toward Augusta and the Masters as the overwhelming favorite and dominant No. 1 player.

But a missed cut at the Honda Classic and a few shaky days at Doral, which included a frustrated club toss into the lake, put a dent in that. In his first ever start at Bay Hill, and likely his last event before the Masters, McIlroy needed to play a few crisp rounds and post that mid-60s number we’re used to seeing over the past 12 months. He did that on Friday.

Now McIlroy will start the weekend five shots off the 36-hole pacesetter, Morgan Hoffmann. If Hoffmann continues to strike the ball like he has through the first two days at Bay Hill, it’s unlikely anyone chases him down. But as we’ve seen all year on the PGA Tour, Hoffmann should get a run from the many chasers, most prominent of which is McIlroy. The world No. 1 has been steady tee-to-green all week -- an impromptu visit from swing coach Michael Bannon, and a couple laid back days of Masters prep at Augusta, appear to have Rory back on form.

McIlroy will be out in the fourth-to-last group on Saturday, going off at 1:25 p.m. ET with David Lingmerth. He’s not in the lead, but he’ll definitely be the one getting all the love from the Golf Channel and NBC cameras late in the day at Bay Hill. Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson, Harris English, and Brooks Koepka are some of the other top talents playing around Rory later in the day. Hoffmann will play in the final group with Matt Every, the defending champ here, at 1:55 p.m., setting up an estimated 6 p.m. finish on NBC. Here’s the full tee sheet for Saturday’s third round: