A six way tie for the lead on -7 after 36 holes of Arnold Palmer Invitational
Shane Lowry has previously played this tournament five times which includes four missed cuts. Lowry started his second round as leader on -6. Lowry’s front nine of 35 included three birdies and two bogeys. Offaly native reached -8 after a birdie at the 13th hole. Lowry played his final five holes in +1 and shot a round of 71. Lowry is tied first on-7 and his success so far is due to been ranked second in driving accuracy.
World number one Scottie Scheffler started his second round on -2. Scheffler advanced to -4 after chipping in for eagle at the 12th hole. 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational winner found an improvement on the greens especially with three birdies in a row at 15, 16 and 17. Scheffler shot a -6 round which is his best ever round at Bay Hill.
2023 The Open champion Brian Harman started day two three shots behind the lead. Harman took the lead on his own on -8 after a birdie at 17. Harman was unsuccessful in achieving a par at 18 but settled for a round of 68. Wyndham Clark made five incredible birdies in six holes to tie the lead on -7. Russell Henley and Hideki Matsuyama are also tied first on -7.
It’s great to see Will Zalatoris injury free and is only one shot behind leaders on -6. Max Homa, Sam Burns, Justin Thomas and Viktor Hovland are all in a great position on -4. Xander Schauffele is only five shots behind the lead on -2. Jordan Spieth dropped back to -1 after a second round of +2.
Rory McIlroy started his second round on +1. McIlroy played the two par fives on the front nine in a disappointing +1. Northern Irishman chipped in for birdie at the 13th hole to level par. McIlroy moved up the leaderboard to -1 after a two putt birdie at 16. McIlroy shot a -2 round of 70 and heads into Saturday six shots behind the leaders. Seamus Power shot a round of +2 but managed to make the halfway cut.
This week’s DP World Tour event is the Johnson Workwear Open. Tom McKibbin shot an opening round of -5 and followed it up with a -8 round on Friday. McKibbin will start day three on -13 and two shots behind halfway leader Matteo Manassero.