ORLANDO, Fla. — Rocco Mediate was 19 when he met Arnold Palmer. They have played golf more times than he can remember. He has sat in Palmer's office on countless occasions seeking advice. He feels as though he can ask Palmer for anything.

But not a tee time at the Bay Hill Invitational.

He wanted to earn that exemption.

Mediate, a five-time PGA Tour winner who shares Western Pennsylvania roots with Palmer, was coming off one of his worst seasons and certainly one of his lowest moments in his career. He has always had back issues, and it flared up in April right when he had a chance to win the Masters. He played sparingly the rest of the year, and needed a minor medical exemption to get his card.

That meant missing the marquee events — such as the Arnold Palmer Invitational — unless he got an exemption.

"I want you to do me a favor," Mediate said he told Palmer during a visit late last year. "I want you to monitor my play for the next couple of weeks. If you think I deserve to be at your golf tournament, I'll take it."

Mediate had his best week at Riviera, finishing ninth at the Nissan Open.

He got an exemption to Bay Hill.

And he's not done proving himself to the King.

With birdies on two of the toughest holes Friday, Mediate endured wind and rain on his way to a 5-under 65 that gave him a three-shot lead over Paul Casey and John Rollins going into the weekend — big enough for him to dream.

Twenty-five years after meeting Palmer for the first time, imagine Mediate meeting him on the 18th green Sunday with the trophy.

"It would be pretty interesting to see if I could even talk," said Mediate, and that might be the biggest shock because the 44-year-old can rarely keep his flap shut. "It would just be ridiculous. I wouldn't know what to do. But it would be fun to find out."

Mediate is still halfway home to a handshake with his hero.

He was at 9-under 131, three shots clear of Casey (70) and Rollins (65). Another shot back at 5-under 135 was a group that included two major champions (Ben Curtis and Shaun Micheel), the Players champion (Stephen Ames), Sergio Garcia and Vaughn Taylor.