On the first day of the Arnold Palmer Invitational (total prize money of $20 million), the fourth signature tournament of the PGA Tour season, Shane Lowry of Ireland took the lead by one stroke with a 6-under 66.
In the first game at Arnold Farmers Bay Hill Club & Lodge (par 72, 7,466 yards) in Orlando, Florida, Rory had an eagle, five birdies, and one bogey, saving six strokes.
Shane Laurie, who had been on a boring par streak until the 9th hole since her first birdie at the 2nd hole, exploded her shot from the 10th hole.
Having birdied consecutive holes at 10 and 11, Rory put his second shot on the fringe at 5.5 meters away from the pin at the par-5 and 12th holes (579 yards). His chip shot that he attempted at this distance went straight into the hole and garnered an eagle. At the 13th hole, he also successfully played birdie putt at a distance of about 6.5 meters, reducing five pars at four holes.
He made a bogey on the 14th hole, but recovered with a birdie on the 17th hole to finish the game with six shots cut on the first day of the tournament.
Shane Laurie has been on the rise recently, tying for fourth at last week’s Cognizant Classic, raising the possibility of his third career win at the tournament.
He won his first tour victory at the Bridgestone Invitational at the World Golf Championship in the 2014-2015 season and won the D-Open Championship, a major tournament, in the 2018-2019 season.
In fact, Rory was in a bad relationship with the Arnold Palmer Invitational. It is the first time that he has broken through the barriers of pars in his 70s in six appearances. He passed the cut for the first time last year, but finished the game tied for 67th by recording 80 pars in the third round.
“This is one of the courses that people love. But I have wrestled with this course for many years,” he said after finishing the race. “I am very happy that I was able to perform well in this beautiful course today, in a big and great competition. I needed the same score as I did today to feel confident in this course.”
“It is one of the hardest and hardest courses among golf courses that we usually play. The course will turn into a more challenging one over the weekend,” Rory said. “Once I make a birdie, I feel like I have never made a par again when I start making a bogey.”
Meanwhile, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan scored one eagle, five birdies, and two bogeys to tie for second place with Justin Rohr of the U.S. by one stroke with a five-under 67 overall.
It was followed by Russell Henry, Lee Hodges, Sam Burns, and Sahith Tigala (all of the United States) who tied for fourth place with four under par 68.
Lim Sung-jae (26) and Ahn Byung-hoon (33) tied for 25th with 1-under 71, four shots behind the leader, and Kim Joo-hyung (22) tied for 49th with 1-over 73. Kim Si-woo (29) tied for 62nd with 3-over 75.
The second day of the Arnold Palmer Invitational will be available live on JTBC Golf and JTBC Golf & Sports from 4 a.m. on the 9th (Korea time).
Source: totosite(토토사이트)