Daniel Berger lead trimmed at Arnold Palmer Invitational as Akshay Bhatia closes in

[p]Play was held up for an hour as a quarter-inch of rain hit Florida's Bay Hill in a 15-minute mid-afternoon period, leaving greens briefly unplayable as the grounds crew scrambled to remove the water.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/berger-daniel/vNKbvcSM/"]Berger[/a] - a four-time PGA Tour winner, chasing his first title in five years - led by six strokes before the break. When play resumed, the American runaway leader survived a scare on 13 as his ball somehow held up in thick grass on the water's cusp.[/p][p]But he still had to settle for a bogey after two-putting, and completed just 15 holes before darkness fell, allowing the chasing pack to gain ground.[/p][p]His playing partner, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bhatia-akshay/hO3IOL5C/"]Akshay Bhatia[/a], sank a twilight birdie on the 16th, while Berger opted not to attempt his eagle putt on the same green until Sunday.[/p][p][b]"Sixteen was kind of a must... It's fun to be in the hunt,"[/b] said Bhatia.[/p][embed guid="8850e2ef-cdcd-493e-aaa2-96725f6f4864" url="https://x.com/PGATOUR/status/2030460988097458246" social-type="twitter" /][p]Two shots further back was [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/straka-sepp/fqttYEZr/"]Sepp Straka[/a] who carded 66, the day's best score. The Austrian shared third place with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/morikawa-collin/0UlRrMgE/"]Collin Morikawa[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/young-cameron/WAjf7EFq/"]Cameron Young[/a], who made a fine 67 featuring four straight birdies at the turn.[/p][p]Morikawa said barely managing to finish his third round could be an advantage, with the leaders forced to tee off early again Sunday to complete theirs.[/p][p][b]"Just being able to wake up and sleep in, and just kind of get the day situated, it's a huge kind of momentum thing I think for the routine,"[/b] he said.[/p][h2]'Beats you up'[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mcilroy-rory/djwanksN/"]McIlroy[/a] withdrew before the third round began, citing a lower back problem.[/p][p]The world number two said in a statement he had felt a "small twinge" in his back while warming up in the gym.[/p][p][b]"As I started hitting balls on the range before the round, it worsened and developed into muscle spasms in my lower back,"[/b] the Northern Ireland star said. [b]"Unfortunately, I'm not able to continue and have to withdraw."[/b][/p][p]McIlroy's withdrawal comes at a critical period of the season, with the five-time major-winner due to defend his Players Championship title at TPC Sawgrass and his Masters title at Augusta next month.[/p][p]Elsewhere, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/scheffler-scottie/bXfIuBYu/"]Scheffler[/a] endured another rollercoaster round, a day after tossing his ball into the 18th hole's lake in frustration.[/p][embed guid="8284e804-28a5-44f8-ac5e-43908de6929a" url="https://x.com/PGATOUR/status/2030427266061148198" social-type="twitter" /][p]Scheffler started Saturday with a string of bogeys, made four straight birdies on the back nine, then ended with a double bogey.[/p][p]He found the water with an aggressive line from very deep rough on the final hole, then wedged the ball into a bunker.[/p][p][b]"When you hit it in the rough out here you don't know what you're going to get,"[/b] said Scheffler.[/p][p][b]"Sometimes you can get the ball on the green. And then you look at the lie I had on one, I can't hit it more than 90 yards, and I'm not necessarily weak in terms of speed."[/b][/p][p]The end result was an eventful 72 that left Scheffler where he began, on three under.[/p][p][b]"Pretty up and down, I would say,"[/b] Scheffler summarised, joking that [b]"golf's a game that kind of beats you up."[/b][/p]