Els thinks of what might have been; Na eyes opportunity
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
ORLANDO -- Kevin Na was thinking about a missed airline flight.
Ernie Els, on the other hand, was left to ponder the mistakes he made on the back nine Sunday before the final round of the rain-soaked Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard was suspended for the day.
The Big Easy probably won't sleep that way Sunday night as he thinks about the water-logged double bogey he made at the 13th hole. Or, how he couldn't get up and down from a greenside bunker at No. 14.
What had been a five-stroke advantage is now just two as Els returns with 20 others at 10 a.m. to complete the final round at Bay Hill. He has four holes left -- three of which rank among the top four in terms of difficulty this week -- as he attempts to win for the second straight start.
The forecast isn't much better, either. Play Sunday was delayed 2 hours and 58 minutes before the decision was made to return on Monday. Rain is expected to continue overnight and into the early morning hours before subsiding.
"It won't be a very peaceful night I don't think, but going to come out tomorrow and get it done somehow," Els said. "There's no excuse for those bogeys or double bogeys I made. Just came at the wrong time and now I'm in with a big battle tomorrow morning depending on conditions.
"I hear it could change drastically. It could be a northerly breeze blowing in the morning, really wild wind. So it could be a wild finish."
Na, who is playing one group ahead of Els, is his nearest challenger and faces an 82-foot birdie putt at the 15th hole. The leader has yet to hit his drive on the same hole.
"I just have to do what I've got to do," said Na, who is trying to win for the first time in his career. "Can't worry about where I'm at or what I need to do or what the score is. ...
"I was playing well and Ernie looked like he was struggling, probably good for Ernie that they called it, so he can clear his head a little bit. 16, 17, 18 is definitely going to play easier because the greens are going to be softer now and you are going be to be able to go to the pin and hold it.
"For me, I need to make birdies to catch Ernie."
Els said the approach at the 13th hole that fell short and disappeared into the water would probably eat at him the most. He took his drop, hit his fourth shot on the green and two-putted from 26 feet for the double bogey.
"That's not going to go away," Els said. "I know myself; we are sportsmen, and when we miss up like that, we think about it. Got to get myself ready, somehow, for the tee shot on 15. There's nothing I can do about it now."
At the same time, Els shouldn't be too hard on himself. He leads Na by two and Retief Goosen and his two playing partners, Ben Curtis and Chris Couch, by three. Couch faces a 15-footer for par at the 14th hole while Curtis just made par there. Goosen has yet to tee off at No. 18.
"I started with a one shot lead and I have a two shot lead now,'" Els said. "I'm going to play properly tomorrow morning and get it in. It's going to be difficult but that's why we do what we do, I guess.
"Obviously I'm not totally at ease with myself right now. I'm a little angry or disappointed or whatever you want to call it. There's still work out there to be done, and I've got to get it done. I've basically got to go out there and play hard tomorrow morning -- basically four holes as good as I can."
Na, who had to change his 9 a.m. flight on Monday, has two runner-up finishes, both in 2005 and one of which was a playoff loss at the Chrysler Classic of Tucson. He has two top-10s this year but hasn't finished higher than 50th in his last four stroke play events.
"It's unfortunate that we didn't finish today," Na said. "I was playing well and Ernie was, but tomorrow is another day. We'll come out and I'll give it my best, and I think I still need to make a few birdies coming in to get a chance maybe in a playoff."
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