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Golf roundup: Marc Leishman’s late eagle putt helps him win the Arnold Palmer Invitational

Marc Leishman poses with the winner's trophy and the new ceremonial red sweater after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday.
(Sam Greenwood / Getty Images)
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Marc Leishman 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 at Bay Hill 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 within three feet. He calmly made the par putt for a three-under-par 69 and one-shot victory over Kevin Kisner and Charley Hoffman.

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The only thing missing was a handshake from the King. This was the first Arnold Palmer Invitational since the September death of the beloved tournament host.

“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.”

Rory McIlroy had as good a chance as anyone, storming into a share of the lead by hooking a wedge around a tree, over the water and over the green on the 16th, then nearly holing the eagle chip.

He had a 30-foot birdie putt to tie for the lead on the 18th, and after seeing that Leishman had made eagle on the 16th, gave it a good run. The putt went 8 feet by and three-putt for a 69 to finish two shots back.

“These things happen,” McIlroy said. “But I’m pleased with how I went. Ten under for the weekend around here is good scoring, and I can take a lot of positives from it going into next week.”

Kisner and Hoffman also squandered away their chances.

Kisner had a three-shot lead at the turn, but failed to made another birdie the rest of the way. His lead began slipping away when Kisner missed the green on the par-5 12th with a sand wedge, pitched over the other side of the green and took bogey. He closed with a 73.

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“I had it right there in the palm of my hand to win, and I didn’t get it done,” Kisner said.

Tyrrell Hatton of England shot 71 to tie for fourth with McIlroy, while Valspar Championship winner Adam Hadwin closed with a 71 to finish three shots behind.

Leishman finished at 11-under 277 and earned a three-year exemption on the PGA Tour.

“Mr. Palmer was an awesome guy who I was lucky enough to meet a few times,” Leishman said. “To honor him was huge. And it was the first time I won a tournament with my family here. It’s all come together.”

Nordqvist wins Founders Cup title

Anna Nordqvist caught up with some college friends — and left everyone else behind on another hot afternoon at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup when the 29-year-old former Arizona State player shot a four-under 68 to hold off fellow major champions Ariya Jutanugarn, Stacy Lewis and In Gee Chun by two strokes in record 96-degree heat at Desert Ridge.

Nordqvist finished at 25-under 263, two strokes off the LPGA Tour record that Sei Young Kim matched last year at Desert Ridge. The 6-foot Swede had a tournament-record 61 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead into the final round. Jutanugarn and Lewis also shot 68, and Chun had a 66.

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Nordqvist won her seventh LPGA Tour title and first since successfully defending the ShopRite LPGA Classic title last June. In the U.S. Women’s Open in July, she lost a three-hole playoff to Brittany Lang after being penalized two strokes for touching the sand with her club in a fairway bunker on the second extra hole.

Lehman shoots 66 for Tour Champions win

Tom Lehman took advantage of senior newcomer Steve Stricker’s late mistakes to win the Tucson Conquistadores Classic for his 10th PGA Tour Champions victory.

Two strokes behind Stricker with three holes to play, Lehman closed with two birdies and a par for a seven-under 66 and a one-stroke victory over playing partner Stricker.

Stricker followed his second-round 63 with a 70. He was trying to become the 19th player to win in his first start on the 50-and-over tour and first since Miguel Angel Jimenez in 2014. Stricker bogeyed the par-three 16th, matched Lehman with a birdie on the par-five 17th, and bogeyed the par-four 18th after hitting a three-wood drive left into the water.

The 58-year-old Lehman won for the first time since the 2015 SAS Championship, finishing at 20-under 199 on Omni Tucson National’s Catalina Course. He won the 1996 British Open and four other PGA Tour titles.

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Bernhard Langer broke the tour record for consecutive rounds under par at 32, shooting a 65 to finish third at 15 under. Gil Morgan set the previous mark in 2000. Fred Couples (70), Billy Andrade (70) and Gene Sauers (69) were 14 under.

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