Arnold Palmer Invitational Round 2 tee times: Wyndham Clark holds early lead

Bay Hill showed its teeth on Thursday, transforming Arnie’s Place into a formidable U.S. Open venue. Fifty-four players in this 72-man field signed for over par scores, with three carding 80 or worse. Among those who shot 80 or higher were Max Homa and Cameron Young, the latter of whom rifled his opening tee shot out of bounds. Homa, meanwhile, has struggled for almost 10 months now, a far cry from the top-10 player he was a year ago.

But a player who did not succumb to the gusty and difficult challenges was Wyndham Clark. Clark fired a splendid 5-under 67 and now holds the lead by two over Keegan Bradley, Shane Lowry, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, and Corey Conners. His caddy, John Ellis, fell ill, and could not carry his bag, but that did not stop the 2023 U.S. Open champion. Instead, Clark turned in a terrific scorecard, one with six birdies and only one bogey — an impressive round on a day where the field made 275 bogies and 54 doubles or worse.

Other notables on the front page of the leaderboard include Rory McIlroy and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who sit at 2-under and 1-under, respectively.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.