ORLANDO, Fla. – Viktor Hovland had the best day on Friday, shooting a minus-6 (66) round to cap off another strong start after 36 holes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. This time, he knows what awaits him during the weekend rounds on the Bay Hill course.
Rory McIlroy got a brief glimpse of it.
Hovland played Friday morning and set the standard on a hot, windy day. He had seven birdies and was able to save a few well-timed pars late in the round. His good performance allows him to post a cumulative minus-19.
Running in the afternoon, McIlroy looked on track to catch Hovland in the lead until his game got tricky on the increasingly dry and slippery greens. While tied at the top, McIlroy missed a four-foot putt to save his par, two eight-foot putts that would have earned him a birdie and a par, then missed another great birdie chance on 15 feet.
In the end, he found himself two strokes behind tied with a former Bay Hill champion Tyrrell Hatton (68) as well as Talor Gooch (68), who won his first PGA Tour title at the very last tournament of the calendar. last season.
Hovland will no doubt have a sense of deja vu this weekend as they entered the final two rounds with a two-stroke lead last year before dropping to 15 strokes behind with cards of 77 and 78.
“I try to forget what happened during the weekend here last year, admitted the 24-year-old Norwegian. I’ve played really well over the last few days, a bit like I’ve been doing since the start of the season. The course is getting harder and harder every day and the wind has started to blow. I hit a few bad shots too many and found myself in a bad position. »
McIlroy opened the tournament with a 65 on Thursday morning on a slightly softer course. It didn’t take him long to realize that the terrain had changed a lot in 24 hours. From the first hole, he committed a bogey. However, he pulled himself together well, scoring three birdies.
Then he had to make do with a collection of normals. Seven shots off the lead, the 32-year-old says he didn’t feel like he was that far from the top.
“It’s the kind of green you expect on Sunday, not late Friday, observed the Northern Irishman. It will be interesting to see how they evolve in the next few days, but we will have a good challenge this weekend. I am happy to have been able to play 18 holes in these conditions because the course changed enormously between Thursday morning and Friday afternoon. »
“I’ll be a little better prepared for tomorrow,” added McIlroy.
In Hatton’s case, he wasn’t too sure how to analyze his round, other than the fact that he played well on the greens. Tournament champion two years ago, he says he feels good on the Bay Hill greens. This is the only aspect of his game that seemed suitable to him.
“I’m not very happy with how I’ve been hitting the ball the last few days,” Hatton said. I think my score is very flattering. I did very well on my putts, which explains my score, but I know that I can’t continue to hit so badly, especially since the competition will be much tougher this weekend. »
“Hopefully I can find myself a swing and my putts stay as effective on the weekend,” he continued.
The Bay Hill were so demanding on Friday that Jon Rahm was unable to find his rhythm and found himself a shot outside the top-10. He is tied for 13th, seven strokes behind the leader.
For the sixth year in a row, the cut was above normal, at plus-3.
Taylor Pendrith is the top Canadian at minus one. He is tied for 20th place.
Corey Conners is 39th at plus-one. Nick Taylor narrowly survived the cut with a cumulative plus-3.
