Arnold Palmer Invitational R1

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Rory McIlroy & Corey Conners tied for lead at Bay Hill
Posted on
March 5, 2021
by
The Editorial Team in ,
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

March 04-07
Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Florida
$9,300,000
Round 2, Round 3, Round 4




Rory McIlroy, who missed the cut at Riviera two weeks ago, appears to be back in form and in control of the ball at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.


Starting on the back nine, he made two birdies and a bogey at the 18th, then sank a 55-foot putt for birdie at the par-3 2nd followed by four more back-to-back birdies for a 6-under 66 and a share of the lead.



McIlroy, who has previously won at Bay Hill and has not had a finish lower than a tie for sixth in the past four years, felt this was his best round of the year. Having observed Tiger Woods as he won his eight API titles he feels he knows how to tackle the course.

โ€œI feel like you don't have to do anything special to shoot a good score here. You can be really conservative off the tees if you want to be. There's a bunch of irons that you can hit off tees. I think the toughest thing about this course is the par 3s, and I played them in 3 under today. So that was a bonus.โ€


โ€œI've watched Tiger enough here over the years and the way he played this course was, he played it very conservatively, he took care of the par 5s, and that was usually good enough to get the job done. So sort of take a little bit of a leaf out of his book.โ€

Corey Conners, also starting on the back nine, opened with three consecutive birdies, made another at the 15th and eagled the par-5 16th then bogeyed the 18th to make the turn in 31. Two more birdies on the front nine gave him the lead briefly before a three-putt bogey on the 9th left him tied with McIlroy for the lead.



One shot behind in solo third is Bryson DeChambeau who put off trying to drive the green at the par-5 sixth hole due to the wind and settled for birdie.

"There was a high expectation level of me trying to go for the green there, and it was a little pressure that I wasn't expecting," said DeChambeau. "But no, it was fun. The crowds were great with it. I pulled out an iron as a joke off the tee box. And for me, it was just too much off of the right and more into the wind than anything."

โ€œIf it's more downwind. I'll be able to do it tomorrow, hopefully, or some time during the weekend.โ€




Last yeat's Arnold Palmer Invitational was the last PGA event that allowed unlimited numbers of fans in, a week before the pandemic shut down golf. This year, the numbers are capped 25% of capacity, about 5,000 masked fans a day.

Playing alongside DeChambeau and making his Bay Hill debut was Jordan Spieth who produced three birdies and an eagle at the par-5 16th but unfortunately also three bogeys for a 70 and a tie for fifteenth. One of the latter came at the 6th where he hit off the toe of his driver, found the water and did well to keep it to bogey with a 25-foot putt.

"Definitely proud of the way I responded, but the way I putted today, certainly would have liked a lower number," said Spieth. "But it all just comes down to one shot for me today."




Pos.
Player
To Par
R1
T1
Rory McIlroy *
-6
66
T1
Corey Conners *
-6
66
3
Bryson DeChambeau *
-5
67
T4
Jason Kokrak
-4
68
T4
Sebastián Muñoz *
-4
68
T4
Byeong Hun An *
-4
68
T7
Lee Westwood
-3
69
T7
Matthew Fitzpatrick
-3
69
T7
Viktor Hovland
-3
69
T7
Sungjae Im *
-3
69
T7
Keegan Bradley *
-3
69
T7
Martin Laird *
-3
69
T7
Victor Perez *
-3
69
T7
Lanto Griffin
-3
69
T15
Jordan Spieth *
-2
70
T15
Cameron Tringale
-2
70
T15
Tommy Fleetwood
-2
70
T15
Peter Malnati *
-2
70
T15
Matt Wallace
-2
70
T15
Christiaan Bezuidenhout *
-2
70
T15
Rory Sabbatini
-2
70
T15
Andrew Putnam
-2
70
T15
Jason Day
-2
70
T15
Padraig Harrington *
-2
70
T15
Max Homa
-2
70
T15
Ian Poulter
-2
70
T15
Adam Long *
-2
70
T15
Paul Casey
-2
70
T29
Doug Ghim *
-1
71
T29
Richy Werenski *
-1
71
T29
Kevin Na
-1
71
T29
Charley Hoffman
-1
71
T29
Robert MacIntyre
-1
71
T29
Luke List
-1
71
T29
Emiliano Grillo *
-1
71
T29
Henrik Norlander
-1
71
T29
Kyoung-Hoon Lee *
-1
71
T29
Maverick McNealy *
-1
71
T29
Mark Hubbard *
-1
71
T29
Chris Kirk
-1
71
T29
Justin Rose *
-1
71
T29
Brendan Steele
-1
71
T43
Tyler Duncan
E
72
T43
William Gordon *
E
72
T43
Lucas Glover
E
72
T43
Alex Noren
E
72
T43
Denny McCarthy *
E
72
T43
Bernd Wiesberger
E
72
T43
Harold Varner III *
E
72
T43
Steve Stricker
E
72
T43
Erik van Rooyen
E
72
T43
Matthew NeSmith *
E
72
T43
Cameron Percy *
E
72
T43
Anirban Lahiri *
E
72
T43
Sung Kang *
E
72
T56
Kevin Kisner *
1
73
T56
Keith Mitchell
1
73
T56
Danny Lee *
1
73
T56
Harris English
1
73
T56
Patrick Reed
1
73
T56
Paul Goydos *
1
73
T56
Henrik Stenson *
1
73
T56
Talor Gooch *
1
73
T56
Sepp Straka
1
73
T56
Tim Herron *
1
73
T56
Patrick Rodgers
1
73
T56
Doc Redman
1
73
T56
Will Zalatoris
1
73
T56
Nick Taylor
1
73
T56
Danny Willett
1
73
T71
Chez Reavie
2
74
T71
Tom Hoge
2
74
T71
Wyndham Clark
2
74
T71
John Huh *
2
74
T71
Brian Stuard *
2
74
T71
Bo Hoag
2
74
T71
Jason Dufner
2
74
T71
Marc Leishman *
2
74
T71
Charles Howell III *
2
74
T71
Russell Knox *
2
74
T71
Billy Horschel
2
74
T71
Cheng Tsung Pan *
2
74
T71
Zach Johnson *
2
74
T71
Brendon Todd *
2
74
T71
Branden Grace
2
74
T71
Joel Dahmen *
2
74
T87
Shane Lowry
3
75
T87
Kristoffer Ventura
3
75
T87
Jazz Janewattananond
3
75
T87
Pat Perez *
3
75
T87
Brandt Snedeker *
3
75
T87
Aaron Wise *
3
75
T87
Jim Herman *
3
75
T87
Austin Cook *
3
75
T87
Hideki Matsuyama
3
75
T96
Patton Kizzire
4
76
T96
Kramer Hickok
4
76
T96
Matthias Schmid (a)
4
76
T96
Cameron Davis *
4
76
T96
Charl Schwartzel *
4
76
T96
Kyle Stanley *
4
76
T96
Robby Shelton
4
76
T96
Matt Every
4
76
T96
Matt Jones
4
76
T96
J.T. Poston *
4
76
T96
Rickie Fowler
4
76
T107
Sam Burns
5
77
T107
Cameron Champ
5
77
T107
Tyrrell Hatton *
5
77
T110
Francesco Molinari *
6
78
T110
Brian Gay *
6
78
T110
Robert Streb
6
78
T110
Hudson Swafford
6
78
T110
Rod Perry *
6
78
T115
Robert Gamez *
7
79
T115
Dylan Frittelli *
7
79
T115
Graeme McDowell
7
79
T115
Tyler McCumber
7
79
T115
Adam Hadwin
7
79
120
Si Woo Kim *
8
80
T121
John Augenstein *
9
80
T121
Camilo Villegas
9
81
123
Kamaiu Johnson
12
84
* Player started on the back nine
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The editorial team at Golf Today strives to provide readers with captivating content that celebrates the rich heritage and exciting developments in the world of golf. Their collective expertise and dedication ensure that Golf Today remains a premier destination for golf enthusiasts seeking the latest news, insightful analysis, and engaging stories from the world of golf.

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