Hovland has 2-shot lead at Bay Hill
ORLANDO, Fla. – Viktor Hovland had the lowest round of the day with a 6-under 66 and is off to another great start at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. This time, he has a good idea what to expect on the weekend at Bay Hill.
Rory Mcilroy got a sneak preview. Hovland played Friday morning and set the target on a warm day with increasing wind, making seven birdies and a few key pars saves late in the second round. He posted a 9-under 135.
Mcilroy played in the afternoon and was poised to catch him until his putter let him down on greens that were getting crisp and slippery. Tied for the lead, Mcilroy missed a 4-foot par putt, putts from 8 feet on the next two holes for birdie and par, and he finished off his 72 by missing a good birdie chance from 15 feet.
He was two behind along with past Bay Hill winner Tyrrell Hatton (68) and Talor Gooch (68), who won his first PGA Tour title in the final official event last year.
Hovland was two shots out of the lead going into the weekend last year when he closed with rounds of 77-78 and wound up 15 shots behind.
“I kind of try to forget the weekend here last year,” he said. “I played really well the first few days, very similar to how I played so far this year. The course just gets harder and harder every single day, and it started blowing. A few too many bad swings and I ended up in bad spots and just didn’t really take my medicine.”
Mcilroy opened with a 65 in slightly softer conditions Thursday morning and it didn’t take long for him to realize how much the course had changed. He bogeyed the opening hole and did well to battle back with three birdies.
And then it was a diet of pars until those dried up. He was seven shots worse, and said it didn’t feel that way.
“Those are the sort of greens you expect to see late on a Sunday, not late on a Friday,” Mcilroy said. “It’s going to be interesting to see where they go from here, but it’s going to be a good test over the weekend. I’m glad I got 18 holes in those conditions because the course definitely changed a lot from when I played it yesterday morning to this afternoon.
“I’ll be a little more prepared for it tomorrow.”
As for Hatton, he wasn’t sure what to think except that he putted well. That much was evident from his 22 putts. He won two years ago – the last PGA Tour event before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down golf for three months – and does have a good feel for the greens. That’s about the only part of his game that felt right.
The cut was at 3-over 147, the sixth straight year it was over par.
PGA Tour
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Ryan Brehm closed birdie-eagle for a 5-under 67 and the second-round lead in the Puerto Rico Open.
Brehm is making his final start on a minor medical extension and needs to win or finish second alone to retain status. He is the only player in the field bogey-free through 36 holes.
“It would be wrong to say you don’t think about it, but realistically, since the beginning of this year we’ve just been trying to improve every day, every week,” Brehm said. “As long as we can do that, if we can take something away from each round, each situation, put some pressure on myself, we’re going to learn from it. Just enjoy the process of doing that really and we’re doing that.”
Brehm birdied the par-4 17th and made a 30-footer for eagle on the par-5 18th to get to 11-under 133 at Grand Reserve.
Max Mcgreevy (64), Satoshi Kodaira (66) and Michael Kim (69) were a stroke back. Callum Tarren (65) was 9 under.
LPGA Tour
SINGAPORE – Top-ranked Jin Young Ko moved into a tie for the lead at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in only her second round since returning from a three-month break from the LPGA Tour.
Ko shot a 5-under 67, including a birdie on the par-5 16th, and was even with Amy Yang (67). They had 8-under totals of 136 on the Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong course.
Yang’s round included seven birdies. “I was hitting the ball very solid today and also putted well. But I was more aware of how to prepare for each shot than, you know, what outcome would come,” Yang said. “And I think I did manage well today.”
Brooke Henderson, Meghan Kang and Atthaya Thitikul were tied for third after each shooting 68s, two strokes behind.
“It was a good day … I felt like I hit it really well and I gave myself some good birdie looks,” Henderson said. “It was nice to cash in, I guess, on five birdies, and unfortunately one bogey.”
Fourth-ranked Danielle Kang (71) was three strokes behind. She’s tied for 10th and had only one ball left in her bag after a difficult round.
Patty Tavatanakit, who led by a stroke after the first round, shot 74 and was five strokes behind.