Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy navigated tricky conditions to put themselves in contention after the first round of Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Florida.
Ireland’s Lowry carded a three-under par 69 to sit in a tie for second alongside Keegan Bradley, Corey Conners and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
World number two McIlroy, finished with a 70, three shots adrift of American leader Wyndham Clark, who knocked in three birdies in the final six holes to sign for a five-under 67.
However, Lowry and Northern Ireland’s McIlroy, both dropped a shot on the 18th on a day when high winds restricted scoring and only 14 players broke par.
American Wyndham Clark navigated the challenge posed by the strong winds the best, knocking in three birdies in the final six holes to establish a two-shot lead at five under.
England’s Justin Rose had briefly led on the front nine but ended up on two under along with McIlroy after pushing his tee shot out of bounds on the ninth where he carded a double bogey.
World number one Scottie Scheffler, who won this tournament 12 months ago posted a 71 and is alongside Justin Thomas, who recovered from the nightmare start of two double bogeys in his opening four holes.
However, others to struggle included former US open winner Matt Fitzpatrick, who ran up a quadruple-bogey eight on the par-four 11th hole as he shot a 78.
Reigning Open champion Xander Schauffele fared only marginally better, dropping six shots in the first 10 holes of his round to finish one stroke better off than the Englishman.
