Rory McIlroy and Corey Conners made solid starts to the Arnold Palmer Invitational, taking the first-round leat at Bay Hill Golf Club.
The Northern Irishman was quick out of the blocks and started with five straight birdies on the front nine.
McIlroy added two more after the turn but dropped a shot on the final hole to sign off for a six-under-par 66 on Thursday.
The Canadian had more of a composed opening to his week in Florida, settling for two birdies and a bogey on the front nine. Conners, however, rolled in three consecutive birdies to start his back nine, before adding an eagle on the par-five 16th hole to move to a share of the lead with McIlroy on six under.
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Bryson DeChambeau also started his week with a bang, carding a five-under-par 65 for his opening round. The big-hitter made three birdies on the 4th, 5th and 6th holes, while rolling in three more after the turn. A drop shot on the 11th, though, meant DeChambeau ended the day in third place.
Jason Kokrak, An Byeong-hun and Sebastián Muñoz went four under for their respective opening rounds and will start Friday’s action in T4.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout made the best start out of all the South Africans in the field, going two under for the day.
Erik van Rooyen remained even par for his round, while Branden Grace (+2), Charl Schwartzel (+4) and Dylan Frittelli (+7) struggled to get going.
