Early Struggles for McIlroy and Lowry at Arnold Palmer Invitational; Power Faces Difficulties in Puerto Rico

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry experienced a challenging opening day at the prestigious Arnold Palmer Invitational, held at Bay Hill, failing to achieve their desired start.

Lowry, seemingly still affected by his previous performance at the Cognizant Classic, finished his first round with a two-over 74, placing him in a tie for 55th. McIlroy, after reaching three-under par with six holes remaining, saw his momentum dissipate, ending the day with an even-par 72, nine strokes adrift of the frontrunner, Daniel Berger.

Lowry's putting struggles were evident, as he didn't sink a putt longer than four feet until the 17th hole, where he birdied from 15 feet, only to bogey the final hole.

McIlroy started strong, carding four birdies and just one bogey over his initial 12 holes. However, a costly double bogey six on the 13th, caused by hitting a short iron into the water and then overshooting the green with his subsequent shot, significantly hampered his progress.

Further difficulties arose on the 208-yard 14th, where he dropped another shot after missing a five-foot putt, following a bunkered tee shot. Despite a birdie on the par-five 16th, he concluded his round with a bogey on the 18th, once again finding himself in a bunker to the left of the green.

Daniel Berger delivered an outstanding performance, crediting his new left-below-right putting grip, as he carded a bogey-free 63, featuring nine birdies. This spectacular round placed him three shots clear of closest competitors Collin Morikawa and Ludvig Aberg.

Reflecting on his exceptional six-under 30 back nine, Berger commented on the anticipated difficulty of the week: "It's going to be an incredibly difficult and challenging week. You can already see the greens are turning white. With a bit of wind and less moisture, it will feel much like a US Open."

These tough conditions might favor world number one Scottie Scheffler, who broke his recent streak of inconsistent opening rounds with a solid two-under 70, placing him in a tie for 18th.

In the 72-player field, McIlroy was tied for 33rd, and Lowry for 52nd.

Meanwhile, at the Puerto Rico Open, Séamus Power recorded a disappointing three-over 75, leaving him eight strokes behind the leader, Chandler Blanchet, in Rio Grande.

Blanchet's impressive eight-under 64 gave him a one-shot lead over 2022 NCAA Championship winner Gordon Sargent. Power, however, struggled with his short game, losing five strokes across a five-hole stretch from the sixth, before improving with four birdies against two bogeys on his back nine.

Power found himself tied for 99th, three strokes shy of the anticipated cut line.