Scheffler part of six-way tie for Bay Hill lead
— Shane Lowry set the target Friday at Bay Hill, and as tough as the course plays, he would not have imagined how much company he would have at the top in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Scottie Scheffler chipped in for eagle and holed a 45-foot birdie putt on his way to a 5-under 67. U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark birdied five of his final six holes — he had nine birdies for the round — and shot 66. Hideki Matsuyama, coming off a win at Riviera, had a 70 to put himself in the mix for another $4 million payoff.
All that movement late on a warm day in Central Florida led to a six-way share of the lead that includes British Open champion Brian Harman (68) and Russell Henley (69).
They were at 7-under 137. It was the largest logjam through 36 holes on the PGA Tour since seven were tied for the lead at the Texas Open in 2011.
“I’m pretty happy to be where I am right now,” Lowry said after the 71 he posted as Scheffler, Clark and the others were still on the front nine. “Look, there’s no trophies given out today, so I’ll just dig in over the weekend and see where it leads me come Sunday.”
There could be a lot of traffic by then. Will Zalatoris shot 69 with only one birdie on the four par 5s and was feeling confident as ever that his back troubles were behind him. Justin Thomas (71) and Viktor Hovland (69) were among those only three shots back.
Nick Taylor of Abbotsford is tied for 10th at 4 under, three shots behind the leaders. Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., is one shot back of Taylor in a tie for 17th. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford is tied for 39th at even par. Mackenzie Hughes of Hamilton, Ont., is tied for 46th at 2 over.