by 
Wyndham Clark spoke of two birdies in his last three holes to open a two -stroke advance after the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational of the PGA Tour in Florida on Thursday.
The number seven -world -year -old Clark, the US Open 2023 champion, drew a 67 from five under normal to depart from the field to Bay Hill on a day when gusty winds have made difficult conditions.
Clark, 31 years old, separated from the peloton after riding in a brimidie putt 18 feet on the 16th per five, before a brilliant second blow on the 18th left him a tapo-in for Birdie.
He marked an encouraging opening lap for Clark, who finished second in Scottie Scheffler during the tournament last year.
“It’s nice to put good figures on this golf course and if something is really a good momentum for the rest of the week,” said Clark.
With winds up to 30 miles per hour getting rid of the route throughout the day, Clark took advantage of a lull in the late afternoon to move on the last holes.
“The last five holes, that calmed down a bit,” said Clark. “But then it was difficult to find where the wind was, so it’s a challenge in itself … Maybe the last four holes were easier.”
Clark had seized his first birdie of the day on the second hole in-three before a Bogey the third returns him to the peer level.
But the consecutive birdies on the fifth and sixth left him two under the turn, before a back without Bogey new punctuated with three birdies went to the top of the classification.
Clark leads to a group of four out of three sous players: Keegan Bradley, Corey Conrurs of Canada, Christiaan Bezuidenhout from South Africa and Shane Lowry from Ireland, who all carded 69s to finish three sous.
Lowry flirted by finishing the day above the ranking after a superb Eagle three in the 16th by five, where his second shot from 195 yards left him a six-foot putt in which he rolled.
Lowry admitted that he had benefited from more benign conditions in the afternoon after looking at the morning swept by the wind with a growing feeling of dread.
“It didn’t look very fun there – I was not particularly looking forward to my tour,” said Lowry. “But I think we had favorable conditions. I was quite happy with my result.”
Lowry’s game partner, Rory McILroy from Northern Ireland, is one of the five players tied for sixth place on Two Under after shooting a 70.
– Logs of the afternoon –
McILroy endured a ball round which included six birdies but was strewn with four Bogeys, including a five on the 18th per four.
Nevertheless, the quadruple major winner was satisfied with his departure.
“I think the guys who got a little later got a little stay,” said McILroy.
“It was always windy, but not as hard as the guys understood this morning. Yes, a couple under was a good start.”
The defending champion Scheffler, meanwhile, hid a drift of McILroy in a group of heavy goods vehicles of four players on a sub which Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay.
The world number one of Scheffler admitted that it had been surprised by cooler temperatures and the early wind that strikes the course.
“This morning, when I got out of the house, it was much colder than I had planned – I had to go back and take some additional diapers,” said Scheffler, adding that the contrasting conditions of fairways and Greens were also difficult.
“Many fairways are really soft, but the Greens are like concrete-so it can be really difficult to bring the ball closer to the hole,” he said.
RCW / BB
