– Wyndham Clark (-5), leader of the Arnold Palmer Invitational after the first round, took several editions of the tournament to understand how to play Bay Hill with more chances of success. In fact, he wasn’t able to score under par until his seventh attempt and to score under seventy until the twelfth…
– But last year he finished in second place, only behind an immense Scottie Scheffler (what a surprise…) and yesterday he delivered the best card, a highly valuable 67, even for those who went out to play later, with less wind, as was his case.
The lesson he learned applies to all courses and all golf handicaps, although it’s incredibly difficult to apply. “I think in the past I tried to quickly compensate when I was out of position and that way I quickly got a big number. I’ve simply learned to put it in play and make par, maybe a bogey, but avoiding those big numbers,” explained the Denver native yesterday.
The worse a golfer you are, obviously, the more necessary it is to apply this lesson. How many sevens, eights, and nines we would save ourselves. But if we all agree that man is the only animal that stumbles twice on the same stone, we must also agree that the golfer is the only one who does it hundreds, thousands of times…
– Rory brings the ball down to earth. Yes, it was windy. Especially in the morning. Yes, it was cold in the early hours of play. But come on, this isn’t like a typical Scottish Open. It wasn’t that windy, there wasn’t sideways rain, and the wind chill wasn’t really unpleasant and hard to bear. “These are difficult conditions, especially that crosswind, but we could be playing several weeks like this without suffering significant physical wear,” explained the Northern Irishman.
– Xander Schauffele (+5) has confirmed his worst fears. The Californian had said that Bay Hill, in major mode, might not be the most suitable place for his return to competition. You have to be very sharp, for example, to string together all those recoveries that you will inevitably have to face around very firm greens that don’t allow for mediocre chips. Scheffler recently said it: after forced inactivity, the hardest thing to sharpen to one hundred percent is the short game. Xander, however, took it with philosophy and even a sense of humour: “I knew coming back here was a bit masochistic. You know, I got my butt kicked,” he said at the end.
– The debut of Jackson Koivun (PAR) has indeed been brilliant. Or convincing. The young Californian amateur (turns 20 in May) played his entire round in strong wind and signed a very valuable level par with the course. Let’s remember: if he finishes in the top ten, he would already earn a spot on the PGA Tour through the PGA Tour University Accelerated. And if he ‘only’ manages to make the cut, he would be just one point away from the same goal, which he could achieve in upcoming and recent events. However, Koivun, World Number 2 amateur, stated yesterday that whatever happens, he would remain an amateur next season and continue his studies at Auburn University. He seems very convinced of it, but we’ll have to see it to believe it, if it comes to that.
