Arnold Palmer Invitational Round 4 Tee Times: Collin Morikawa soars into lead

Collin Morikawa relied heavily on his iron play to fire a 5-under 67 on Saturday, a round that featured six bogies and only one bogey on the par-3 14th. He stands atop the leaderboard at 10-under par through 54 holes.

He began the day three shots behind 36-hole leader Shane Lowry, but the Irishman struggled at Bay Hill, opening the door for Morikawa and others to move up the leaderboard. Lowry sat at 8-under at the midway point but dropped two shots on his first two holes — a harbinger of things to come. He bounced back with a pair of birdies on the 6th and 7th holes, but two double bogies on the 11th and 13th holes, where he found the water on each, dropped him out of contention for the time being. He posted a 4-over 76 and now sits six shots behind Morikawa heading into the final round.

Lowry’s playing partner Wyndham Clark did not have his best stuff either, as the 2023 U.S. Open champion also signed for a 76. Like Lowry, Clark bogied his first two holes of the day and could not find his groove that vaulted him into the solo lead after Thursday’s first round.

But lurking one stroke behind Morikawa is Russell Henley, who made four straight birdies on holes 10 through 13 to make a move up the board. Canadian Corey Conners is also right there, sitting at 8-under after shooting a 3-under 69 on Saturday.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.