Twenty. That’s how many strokes Matt Every’s bogey-free 7-under 65 was better than his second round at the Honda Classic last week. Thanks to a 32-foot birdie putt at No. 8, Every signed for the low round of the day at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and made his 85 at the Honda Classic last week a distant memory. His goal on Thursday was simple: “I just didn’t want to shoot myself out of the tournament with the weather the way it was, but I got off to a good start,” he said. It’s been a difficult year for Every, who was suspended for 12 weeks for failing a Tour drug test in October. Every says he’s been prescribed marijuana to combat anxiety, but the Tour denied his request for a Therapeutic Use Exemption. Marijuana is on the banned substance list under the Tour’s anti-doping policy. “You could fail for heroin and marijuana and the penalty is the same” he said. “If anyone wants to make the argument that it is performance enhancing… I promise it’s not.” Bay Hill Golf & Lodge has always been one of Every’s favorite hunting grounds. The Daytona Beach, Florida, native grew up attending the API as a kid and he’s won here twice (2014-15) for his only two titles on the PGA Tour. Every’s 65 marked his lowest score in 33 rounds at Bay Hill. He’s opened in the 60s two other times at the API and both times he went on to win. And for those scoring at home, Every can become the first player to post his first three Tour titles at the same event since Leonard Gallett, who won the 1929, 1933 and 1934 Wisconsin PGA.
Matt Every posts 20-stroke improvement, leads Arnold Palmer Invitational
Twenty. That’s how many strokes Matt Every’s bogey-free 7-under 65 was better than his second round at the Honda Classic last week. Thanks to a 32-foot birdie putt at No. 8, Every signed for the low round of the day at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and made his 85 at the Honda Classic last week a distant memory. His goal on Thursday was simple: “I just didn’t want to shoot myself out of the tournament with the weather the way it was, but I got off to a good start,” he said. It’s been a difficult year for Every, who was suspended for 12 weeks for failing a Tour drug test in October. Every says he’s been prescribed marijuana to combat anxiety, but the Tour denied his request for a Therapeutic Use Exemption. Marijuana is on the banned substance list under the Tour’s anti-doping policy. “You could fail for heroin and marijuana and the penalty is the same” he said. “If anyone wants to make the argument that it is performance enhancing… I promise it’s not.” Bay Hill Golf & Lodge has always been one of Every’s favorite hunting grounds. The Daytona Beach, Florida, native grew up attending the API as a kid and he’s won here twice (2014-15) for his only two titles on the PGA Tour. Every’s 65 marked his lowest score in 33 rounds at Bay Hill. He’s opened in the 60s two other times at the API and both times he went on to win. And for those scoring at home, Every can become the first player to post his first three Tour titles at the same event since Leonard Gallett, who won the 1929, 1933 and 1934 Wisconsin PGA.