Berger still leads at Bay Hill after McIlroy withdrawal

Arnold Palmer Invitational - third-round leaderboard

-13 D Berger (US); -12 A Bhatia (US); -9 S Straka (Aut), C Young (US), C Morikawa (US); -8 MW Lee (Aus;); -7 C Gotterup (US), L Aberg (Swe)

Selected others: -6 H Hall (Eng), R Henley (US), R Fowler (US); -5 V Hovland (Nor), J Spieth (US); -4 X Schauffele (US); -3 S Scheffler (US); -2 M Fitzpatrick (Eng)

Full leaderboard

Akshay Bhatia closed the gap on leader Daniel Berger at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, from which Rory McIlroy was forced to withdraw on Saturday.

The third round had to be completed on Sunday as play at Bay Hill in Orlando was suspended on Saturday because of darkness.

American Berger was two shots clear of Bhatia at that point but his compatriot will head into the final round only one adrift of the leaders, who remains on 13 under par.

Before the third round, McIlroy was nine shots back in a share of ninth place but he suffered spasms in his lower back before starting his round.

The Northern Ireland player's exit was announced by the PGA Tour about 30 minutes before his tee time.

In a later statement, the five-time major winner said: "While warming up in the gym this morning, I felt a small twinge in my back.

"As I started hitting balls on the range before the round, it worsened and developed into muscle spasms in my lower back. Unfortunately, I'm not able to continue and have to withdraw."

McIlroy had moved to four under on Friday with a round of 68, having shot level par on Thursday.

Having birdied four of the first seven holes on the back nine, McIlroy had said he was "really pleased", adding he had played a "controlled, patient round of golf".

The 36-year-old, who was competing in his third PGA Tour event of the season, is due to defend his titles at the Players Championship at Sawgrass next week and the Masters at Augusta from 9-12 April.

A play-off win at the latter against Justin Rose last year saw McIlroy become the sixth man to complete a career Grand Slam, ending an 11-year drought at the sport's four biggest competitions.

It is only the second time McIlroy has withdrawn from a PGA event mid-competition, with the first coming at the Cognizant Classic at the Palm Beaches in 2013.

The leaders completed their third round on Sunday, with Bhatia claiming a birdie on the 18th to finish with a four-under 68, while Berger went round in 72.

Austria's Sepp Straka and Americans Cameron Young and Collin Morikawa were all in the clubhouse on Saturday on nine under and will go into the final round later sharing third place.

England's Harry Hall is tied for ninth on six under, after his four-under-par 68, while world number one Scottie Scheffler is at three under.

The fourth round is due to start at about 9.30am local time (14:30 GMT).