Rory McIlroy - Photo: © F.FROGER / 3Ds

Bay Hill was very busy this Thursday, as was golf before the pandemic. Fans were limited in numbers, but still wanted their dose of entertainment provided by Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau.

First, it was McIlroy, who was slowly feeling better about his game, and for good reason. Starting with a 16m putt on the second par 3 hole, he birdied five in a row to share the lead with Corey Conners in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at 66 (-6).

In the group behind McIlroy was DeChambeau, who envisioned a shot through the water to narrow the sixth hole 483 yards as he went to the green. It wasn't daylight, there was a light breeze on his face, so the US Open champion had fun. He took out an iron, then hit a careful tee shot (282 yards) down the middle of the fairway.

It was a boring birdie, his third in a row, completing his first lap in 67.

“There was a lot of hope of me when I got to the next green, and it was a little pressure that I didn't expect,” said DeChambeau. " It was very fun. The crowd was very enthusiastic. I made a joke by pulling out an iron when I was off the tee. "

In the squad with DeChambeau was Jordan Spieth, who made his Bay Hill debut, and produced a great performance with a 70 that left him with the satisfaction of staying on track.

“I'm really proud of the way I played, also of the way I putt today, but I definitely would have preferred a lower number,” said Spieth. “But it all comes down to one hit for me today. "

Conners who played in the afternoon finishing 6 under par after six holes, topped by an eagle on the sixteen a par-5. He birdied the lead on the par-5 of the six, but finished with a bogey in 36 putts over 18 yards to tie McIlroy.

Shadow Creek champion Jason Kokrak opened the ball rolling with a 68. Of the 60 players who started out in the morning, only six managed to do better than 70. Defending champion Tyrrell Hatton clocked a 77, while former Bay Hill winner Francesco Molinari took a step back with a 78.

McIlroy wasn't too happy with his game after missing the cut - a rarity for him these days - at the Riviera and then not having ideal workouts. He still managed to improve last week at the World Golf Championship and scored even better on Thursday.

The best part was seeing him control the ball and go where and how he wanted. He made three of his birdies on par 3s, the strength of Bay Hill. What stands out is two blows of 5 irons in the wind on holes 14 and 17, both tight, and perfectly controlled about 4,5 meters from the mast.

 "Those strikes from last week that I was trying to achieve missed the target 6 yards to the left," he said. "So, it was good to see them come out to the window I was planning." "

He said it was his best lap of the year, and it helped to be at Bay Hill, where McIlroy had a win and no worse result than sixth in the past four years. He's seen enough of Tiger Woods' eight wins in the Arnold Palmer Invitational to understand how to attack.

“He played it very conservatively. He did the par 5. And that was usually enough to get the job done, ”said McIlroy. “So he took a step back from his book. "

See the Arnold Palmer Invitational leaderboard

To read our last article on the same subject :

Arnold Palmer Invitational: McIlroy winner, Woods placed