Tiger Woods continued his love affair with the $4 million Bay Hill Invitational by staking his share of the early lead in Orlando. The world number one is accompanied by some of the biggest hitters in the game.
Woods, in search of his third consecutive Bay Hill win, made no mistakes in his bogey-free round of 67 and was joined by powerhouses, John Daly and Angel Cabrera, alongside American trio DA Weibring, Steve Flesch and John Huston on five-under.
Taking advantage of the par fives was a common thread on each of the leader’s cards. Woods, Daly and Huston were three-under for the four long holes while Weibring and Flesch went one better and made birdies on all four.
However, ‘The Wild Thing’ outshone them all with his lengthy prowess to cover the par fives in five-under. The highlight of Daly’s round was an eagle three on the final par five, 16th.
"I was patient out there today and for the first time I played this course with a cut," explained Daly on Skysportsafter his round. "I'm pleased to have started well in Arnie's (Palmer) Championship."
Of all the leaders, Cabrera may feel the most aggrieved. The Argentine started on the back nine and got got to seven-under by the time the reached the eighth, his 17th. However, bogeys on the final two holes meant he had to share, rather than command the outright lead.
Ireland’s Paul McGinley found matters more difficult. The Dubliner bogeyed two of the opening three holes, managed to get back on level terms by the 10th, but bogeys at 13 and 14 dropped him back to two-over again. A birdie followed by a bogey at the 16th and 17th gave McGinley an opening 74.