McIlroy fired up to hit the front at Bay Hill
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays a second shot on the 12th hole during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 04, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy combined some Tiger Woods-style control with a touch of anger to fire a six-under 66 to hit the front in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.
The 2018 champion made birdie twos at the 14th and 17th but after missing several other chances, it was not until he made a sloppy bogey at the 18th that he got fired up and blasted five birdies in a row on his back nine.
“I felt very much under control for most of the day but I made a silly bogey on 18 and that little bit of anger maybe propelled me to do what I did on the back nine,” said McIlroy, who angrily swiped at the turf after a poor chip, then tossed his ball backhanded into a lake after missing the par putt.
“It could’ve been the best round of golf I’ve played this year.”
His round changed when a 56 footer that looked to be going 20 feet past, clattered into the flag at the 221-yard second and dropped for another two to start of a run of five birdies in a row.
He made 147-feet of putts but admitted length and a conservative strategy are the keys at Bay Hill, having watched Woods win the event eight times over the years.
“He played it very conservatively, he took care of the par-5s, and that was usually good enough to get the job done,” explained McIlroy, who was joined in a share of the lead by Canada’s Corey Conners (29) late in the day. “So I sort of take a little bit of a leaf out of his book.”
McIlroy and Conners were a shot ahead of big-hitting Bryson DeChambeau, who did not to try and drive the 550-yard sixth.
“I pulled out an iron as a joke off the tee box,” said DeChambeau, who took a conservative line and still made an easy two-putt birdie.
“If it was one of my normal drivers at 2,000 spin I totally could have done it today, but if it’s more downwind I’ll be able to do it tomorrow, hopefully, or some time during the weekend.”
Pádraig Harrington (49) produced the kind of performance that may persuade him to delay his move to the Champions Tour later, firing five birdies in a 70 to share 15th. But it was a day to forget for Shane Lowry and Graeme McDowell.
Lowry (33) missed twice inside four feet, three-putting twice as he had 35 putts in a three-over 75 while McDowell (41) hit only five fairways in a seven-over 79.