– Few opening rounds have garnered as much attention as Scottie Scheffler‘s (-2) today at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, following his recent starts, three to be exact, in Phoenix, Pebble Beach, and Riviera, where he signed Thursday scorecards that were too heavy and almost left him without a chance of victory from the outset. This time, at Bay Hill, where he has already won twice, it hasn’t been the case. We haven’t seen the best version of the World Number One, but at least he has stopped the Thursday bleeding. He is not close to the leader, Daniel Berger (-9), who has delivered a masterclass with irons and wedges in hand today, but he is in the tournament and will still be in the upper part of the leaderboard by the end of the day.
– The Texan hasn’t particularly shone in any aspect, but at least he has regained his trademark ability to get rounds under par without seemingly doing anything special. In fact, he could have comfortably finished within the top ten had he holed two relatively short putts on holes 15 (to save par) and 18 (for birdie), from distances around two metres. Be that as it may, Scheffler has returned to ‘his’ normality after the overwhelming victory at the American Express and also after being forced into epic comebacks in the next three events, one of which came close to a major upset, it must be said.
– We mentioned that Berger delivered a masterclass with irons and wedges in hand, and the evidence couldn’t be more compelling: the Floridian, who is gradually progressing in search of his best form, has racked up nine birdies on a bogey-free card, and the longest putt he holed with his new cross-handed grip barely exceeded three metres. No further questions, your honour.
Berger didn’t beat around the bush and said at the end that today might have been one of his three best rounds of golf on the PGA Tour: “If I had to compare this round to any other, it would probably be with one from the 2018 US Open. On Saturday, I shot, I don’t know, 3 or 4 under par at Shinnecock and went from 60th place to being tied for the lead. So today has that US Open feel. I think the course will get tougher as the week progresses. The greens will become firmer.”
– Collin Morikawa (-6) finished like a rocket, with a four-under stretch over the last three holes of Bay Hill, including an eagle on the 16th. The Californian, judging by his win at Pebble, his seventh place at Riviera, and now this start at Bay Hill, continues to loudly tell us that this year he must be seriously considered in the big events.
– At the time of closing this provisional report on the earliest matches, Nico Echavarría was coming in with a six-under stretch in the first eight holes and five consecutive birdies between holes 4 and 8, holing from all sorts of ways and distances, absolutely relaxed and inspired after his victory last week at the Cognizant… The Colombian will also be a factor to reckon with at Bay Hill.
