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ORLANDO — It was a tale of kings and cobblers in Thursday’s first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
In the early going at Bay Hill, Rory McIlroy positioned himself on the leaderboard just as he has in the world rankings — with everyone else in his rearview mirror. The Northern Irishman opened with a 66 to take a one-stroke lead over a little-known supporting cast of young challengers.
After a sluggish start that included a water ball bogey and a missed short birdie putt, the world No. 1 steadied himself to produce a masterclass on a course where he claimed the title two years ago. “When I was 1-over par I looked at the board and Sam Burns was already like 6-under,” McIlroy said. “So I was like, geez, I got to do something here. I got to get going.”
He did get going, making five birdies and an eagle, the latter courtesy of a 260-yard 3-iron from a fairway bunker to 24 feet that impressed even his caddie, Harry Diamond. “Harry said that’s the best shot I’ve hit all year, so, you know, high praise from him,” McIlroy said with a laugh.
His 66 is McIlroy’s best-ever opening round at the API, where he hasn’t finished worse than T-6 in three years, and equals his best first day score of the season in relation to par at 6 under. It owed in no small part to his overpowering the long holes. “If you can play the par-5s well, you can play the rest of the course pretty conservatively and pick your spots,” he said, pointing out that Tiger Woods used such a strategy in his eight wins at Bay Hill.
“Just sort of trying to follow that plan because it worked pretty well for him,” he added.
The pack chasing McIlroy is comprised of players big on potential but mostly light on trophies. Burns, a 23-year-old in his second full season on the PGA Tour, stumbled late and finished in a group at 4 under that includes Brendon Todd, a two-time winner on Tour this season, and England’s Tyrrell Hatton, who is known more for his histrionics on the course than his heroics.
McIlroy’s closest pursuers as the afternoon wore on were Scottie Scheffler, Talor Gooch, and Matt Every, whose only two Tour wins came at the API. Gooch went 5-under par on a four-hole stretch in his 67. “The hole looked like it was about the size of a basketball goal. It’s nice whenever that happens,” he joked. “On a tough course like this, once it’s over you just try to hold on for dear life after that.”
Other heavyweights didn’t fare so well. World No. 3 Brooks Koepka, making his way back from a knee injury, hit just five fairways on his way to a 72. “I’m trying to figure it out,” he said afterward. Asked what exactly he was trying to figure out, he replied, “How to play golf.”
Someone else trying to figure out how to play is a man who won on the PGA Tour three weeks ago. Adam Scott was near the bottom of the leaderboard after a 77, illustrating anew how fickle a game it is. Among those playing later in the day, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau were both struggling early in their rounds.
As those players went to work, McIlroy went to Disney with his wife, Erica. He returns for a 12:44 p.m. tee time Friday in his bid to capture magic for a second time in three years at Arnie’s kingdom. He’s hoping Sunday evening brings that familiar warm and fuzzy feeling, literally and figuratively, as the winner receives an iconic red cardigan. “It was special. It was warm. Alpaca isn’t as comfortable as you think,” he said. “You could have given me a neon cardigan and I would have worn it all the way home.”