Wyndham Clark birdied three of his last six holes to take a two-shot lead after the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Thursday in Orlando, Fla.
Clark’s 5-under-par 67 at Bay Hill Club & Lodge was one of just 14 rounds under par out of the 72-man field. The four-way tie for second at 3 under features Keegan Bradley, Canadian Corey Conners, Irishman Shane Lowry and South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland played in a pairing with his friend Lowry and posted a 2-under 70. He’s tied with Si Woo Kim of South Korea, Australia’s Cam Davis, Justin Rose of England and Max Greyserman.
Four big names are just behind at 1 under: Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay. Scheffler is the World No. 1 and defending champion.
They’re all looking up at Clark, who has a knack for winning the biggest events. His three PGA Tour victories came at one major (2023 U.S. Open) and two signature events (2023 Wells Fargo Championship, 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am). Now he has a two-shot head start at this $20 million signature event.
Clark made the turn in 3 under par and made a short birdie putt at No. 13, a two-putt birdie at the par-5 16th and a tap-in after a tight approach at No. 18.
“I knew it was going to be really challenging,” Clark said. “And although 5 under — it looks like a fantastic score, I mean, I wasn’t necessarily trying to shoot that number, it kind of just happened. I was really just trying to keep it in front of me. Anytime I got out of position, hit it back short of the green, leave myself into the wind, easy chips. I really didn’t have that much stress, which was really nice.”
Earlier, Lowry took the lead by himself when he reached the green in two at No. 16 and made his 7-footer for eagle. That brought him to 4 under, but he bogeyed the last hole.
Lowry was the solo leader after one round at this event last year before eventually finishing third (Clark was second).
“I turned on the TV and watched some golf this morning and it didn’t look (like) much fun out there,” Lowry said. “I wasn’t particularly looking forward to my round, but we got, I think we got favorable conditions. Even though it wasn’t easy, I felt like I did a good job of making my way around the golf course.”
McIlroy, who already has one win under his belt this season, had a very bumpy journey to his 70 with four bogeys against six birdies.
“The fairways are quite narrow and when you miss them you’re in that thick rough, and it just, you lose all control of your golf ball from there and you’re just hoping for a good lie to get it up somewhere near the green,” he said. “I think the crosswinds were the most difficult part today.”
Because it’s a player-hosted invitational, the tournament will feature a cut to the low 50 scores and ties after Friday’s round. Among those not in good shape: Xander Schauffele (5-over 77), Viktor Hovland of Norway (77), South Korea’s Tom Kim (6-over 78) and Max Homa (9-over 81).
This is Schauffele’s first start following a two-month absence due to a rib injury.
“It’s a tough place to come back to, not going to lie,” Schauffele said. “… I knew I was going to come in on short notice to what is sort of like a major championship setup around the greens, and with the greens being crusty, I really felt it there more than anything else.”
–Field Level Media
