GOLF
Arnold Palmer Invitational Round 2: Friday tee times, pairings and featured groups
Irishman Shane Lowry leads the way and takes a one-stroke lead after one round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Thursday.
Ireland’s Shane Lowry takes a one-stroke lead after one round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Thursday in Orlando as the players prepare for the second day of action.
In the field for the fourth signature event of the season, Lowry carded a 6-under 66 to move a shot in front of Justin Lower and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.
Lowry played the front nine at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in 1-under 35 before making his push. He started the back nine birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie -- chipping in from 18 feet for eagle at the par-5 12th -- before a bogey halted his run at the par-3 14th.
His luck turned at the last par 3, though, as his tee shot at No. 17 landed fewer than 8 feet from the pin to set up the go-ahead birdie.
Russell Henley, Lee Hodges, Sam Burns and Sahith Theegala are tied for fourth at 4-under 68. A large group at 3-under 69 includes notables Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Brian Harman, Will Zalatoris and Canadian Nick Taylor. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is at 2-under 70, as are Collin Morikawa and Australia’s Jason Day.
Though the Arnold Palmer Invitational is a signature event with a $20 million purse, as a player-hosted invitational it features a 36-hole cut down to the top 50 players and ties. That’s bad news for Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, who are among the group tied for 49th at 1-over 73.
Patrick Cantlay (74), Matt Fitzpatrick of England (74) and Rickie Fowler (75) also had rough starts. Defending champion Kurt Kitayama opened with a 6-over 78, second-to-last in the 69-player field.
2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational tee times for Friday: Round 2 (ET)
Tee No. 1
7:45 a.m. – David Ford (a), Webb Simpson
7:55 a.m. – Grayson Murray, Erik van Rooyen
8:05 a.m. – Jake Knapp, Justin Thomas
8:15 a.m. – Corey Conners, Eric Cole
8:25 a.m. – Cam Davis, Denny McCarthy
8:35 a.m. – Patrick Cantlay, Matt Fitzpatrick
8:45 a.m. – Emiliano Grillo, Byeong Hun An
8:55 a.m. – Sahith Theegala, Sungjae Im
9:05 a.m. – Si Woo Kim, Adam Hadwin
9:20 a.m. – Adam Svensson, Harris English
9:30 a.m. – Seamus Power, Tommy Fleetwood
9:40 a.m. – Cameron Young, Lucas Glover
9:50 a.m. – Kurt Kitayama, Max Homa
10:00 a.m. – Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth
10:10 a.m. – Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy
10:20 a.m. – Ludvig Åberg, Shane Lowry
10:30 a.m. – Sami Valimaki, Adam Scott
10:40 a.m. – Nick Dunlap
10:55 a.m. – C.T. Pan, Stephan Jaeger
11:05 a.m. – Luke List, Justin Lower
11:15 a.m. – Will Zalatoris, Min Woo Lee
11:25 a.m. – Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Schenk
11:35 a.m. – Nick Taylor, Sepp Straka
11:45 a.m. – Keegan Bradley, Justin Rose
11:55 a.m. – Jason Day, Tom Hoge
12:05 p.m. – Taylor Moore, Patrick Rodgers
12:15 p.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, Russell Henley
12:30 p.m. – Brendon Todd, Andrew Putnam
12:40 p.m. – Chris Kirk, Lee Hodges
12:50 p.m. – Brian Harman, J.T. Poston
1:00 p.m. – Wyndham Clark, Tom Kim
1:10 p.m. – Sam Burns, Scottie Scheffler
1:20 p.m. – Viktor Hovland, Rickie Fowler
1:30 p.m. – Austin Eckroat, Matthieu Pavon
1:40 p.m. – Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Nicolai Højgaard