An opening round 66 saw Shane Lowry move into the first round lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida.
Lowry's surge after the turn at Bay Hill - where he described his record as "horrific" after the round - propelled him to a round of six under par, a shot clear of Justin Lower and Hideki Matsuyama, with Russell Henley, Lee Hodges, Sam Burns and Sahith Theegala tied for fourth at four under.
With only the top-50 and ties making the cut, Seamus Power and Rory McIlroy are hovering in and around that mark going into the second round.
Power is tied for 35th after a level par round of 72, one shot better than McIlroy.
The four-time major winner laboured to three bogeys on the front nine and dropped another at the par-five 12th on his way to an opening round 73 and in a tie for 49th.
Lowry, playing on a sponsor's exemption, will begin the second round as the man to catch, with the bulk of his scoring work carried out after the turn.
On the front nine, a birdie at the second was all that broke up a steady scorecard of pars, but the Offaly man reeled off three birdies and an eagle in the next four holes.
Birdie-Birdie-Eagle start to his back nine.@ShaneLowryGolf is tied for the lead thanks to this eagle chip-in on No. 12. pic.twitter.com/HaFa2DyMH9
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 7, 2024
The par-five 12th was undoubtedly the highlight of the round.
A booming drive down the middle of the fairway was followed by sublime iron play that left the 36-year-old just off the edge of the green, 18 feet from the hole.
Lowry chipped in for the eagle, and while a bogey at 14 halted the momentum, a fifth and final birdie of the afternoon arrived at 17 after landing his tee shot within eight feet of the flag.
"It's horrific," he said of his record at Bay Hill.
"I think my best finish here is tied-67th or something. I have no idea [where the round came from].
Shane Lowry's record @APInv:
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 8, 2024
Cut
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1st (thru 18 holes)
"Golf's a funny game." pic.twitter.com/oRHqourTMc
"I've played here six times, I've missed the cut five times. Last year I made the cut and shot 81 on Saturday and finished tied-67th or around there.
"I'm going out there with very low expectations today but I knew I was playing well and golf's a funny game. I just had it under control today."
