Lowry in top form, leads at Bay Hill
ORLANDO, Fla. — Shane Lowry knew he was playing good golf because he gave himself a chance to win last week. He also knew his record at Bay Hill was as bad as any course he has played.
Good form won out Thursday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Lowry made three birdie putts from outside 20 feet, chipped in for eagle and avoided most of the trouble for a 6-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead after the opening round.
How bad is Lowry around this track? “Horrific,” the Irishman said with a laugh, and the numbers bear that out.
In his sixth time playing the tournament, this was the first time Lowry broke 70. Last year was the first time he made the cut, and he might have fared better than his tie for 67th if not for an 80 in the third round.
Lowry had a share of the 54-hole lead last week at the Cognizant Classic until posting a 71 over two days in the raindelayed tournament to finish four back.
He needed a sponsor exemption to get into this signature event with a 69player field. As a British Open champion, all-around good bloke and ambassador for MasterCard (the presenting sponsor), that was the easy part.
Bay Hill was always the hard part. He just made it look easy for once.
“It’s one of these places where some people love it. I’ve struggled with it over the years,” he said. “It’s a nice place to come, it’s obviously a great tournament, a huge tournament, and I’m very happy with that today. Maybe that’s the kind of score I need to shoot around here to just give myself the confidence to go out and play my game around here.”
Lowry wasn’t the the only player with low expectations.
Hideki Matsuyama, who shot 62 in the final round to win at Riviera three weeks ago, suddenly felt some back pain that caused him to pull out of the pro-am. He wasn’t sure how it would go in the opening round.
The Japanese star wasn’t expecting a double-hit with a chip shot on the 15th
hole that led to bogey, but he atoned for that by chipping in for eagle on his way to a 67. Justin Lower also had a 67 on a day of reasonable scoring, at least by Bay Hill standards.
With greens that get firmer as the week goes on and thick rough, this is one of the tougher courses leading up to the Masters. There also has been enough rain to slightly soften greens, and no wind, unusual for Florida in March.
Russell Henley and Sam Burns were in the group at 68, while Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and British Open champion Brian Harman were among those at 69.
Nineteen players broke 70, and the average score was 71.5. Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player, had a 70 while missing only three greens.
Defending champion Kurt Kitayama had to rally for a 78. Patrick Cantlay missed too many opportunities to overcome his mistakes in a round of 74,
while Rory McIlroy had a 73 and then spent the twilight hours on the putting green with Brad Faxon.
PGA Tour
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico — Rookie Joe Highsmith shot a bogey-free, 7-under 65 on Thursday to share the early first-round lead with veteran Scott Piercy at the weather-delayed Puerto Rico Open.
Play was stopped for nearly two hours in the afternoon because of heavy rain at Grand Reserve Golf Club, resulting in 54 players failing to finish before play was suspended due to darkness. The 132-man tournament is played opposite the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which has a limited field as a PGA Tour signature event.
Brice Garnett, Garrick Higgo and Erik Barnes were one shot back, and Kevin Streelman at 6 under through 14 holes was faring the best among those who didn’t finish.
Daniel Berger, making his fourth start since a back injury that sidelined him for 19 months, opened with a 3-under 69. He tied for second in his only previous start in Puerto Rico, in 2019.
San Juan native Rafael Campos, one of two Puerto Ricans in the field, was 5 under through 13 holes. Campos is playing the tournament for the 15th time.
The 23-year-old Highsmith, who played in college at Pepperdine and earned his card through the Korn Ferry Tour, has made two cuts in five starts this year, with his best finish a tie for 33rd at Torrey Pines.
Piercy, a 45-year-old, four-time winner on tour, holed an 8-iron from about 176 yards for eagle on his fifth hole of the day, the par-4 14th. He closed with three straight birdies.
LPGA Tour
SANYA, China — Minjee Lee shot a 7under 65 for a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Blue Bay LPGA on China’s southern island of Hainan on Thursday.
Sarah Schmelzel, Miranda Wang, and Ruixin Liu were tied for second after 66s on the Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course.
Lee picked up seven birdies without dropping a shot on a course the Australian knows well.
Lee, No. 5 in the LPGA rankings, won on this layout in 2016 and was looking for her 11th victory on the tour. She said she recalled that victory well.
“A few of the holes were different,” she said.
“I just remember it was my second year out and I didn’t know anything. It was a new event and I came here with no expectations and I had a lot of fun that week.”
European Tour
EDENVALE, South Africa — South African Keenan Davidse and Spaniard Ivan Cantero shot 8-under 64s to take the first-round lead at the Jonsson Workwear Open in South Africa on Thursday.