Friday 8 March 2019 01:25, UK
Rory McIlroy remained confident of hauling himself into contention for a successful defence at Bay Hill despite making an uncertain start on day one.
McIlroy, whose stunning late charge 12 months ago propelled him to his first win since the 2016 Tour Championship, mixed four birdies with as many bogeys in a level-par 72 that left him seven strokes adrift of leader, Rafa Cabrera Bello.
The defending champion was particularly erratic from tee to green and slipped to two over with three to play when he found water with a pushed 92-yard wedge at 13 before he was forced to take a penalty drop following another wayward drive at the 15th.
But he gave himself momentum for the second round when he birdied the long 16th and holed from 20 feet for a rare birdie at the par-three 17th, and he was a whisker away from ending the day in red numbers when he lipped out at the last.
"It would have been nice to shoot under par, and the putt in the last looked in the whole way but didn't drop," said McIlroy, who arrived in Orlando on the back of four straight top-four finishes on the PGA Tour.
"It was tricky out there, the conditions are pretty tough and the course is drying out already. With the way the forecast is, it's only going to get even trickier as the week goes on. I'm only three shots off the top 10, so if I go out tomorrow and shoot something in the 60s, I'll be right there for the weekend.
"I hit some wayward shots, but I scrambled pretty well for the most part and I holed a couple of good putts when I needed to, so I kept it together. It could have been worse, even par isn't too bad. And as I said, I'll regroup and try to go out there tomorrow morning and post a good score.
"The rough is pretty penal this week so if I can just get the ball in play a little bit more and hit fairways, play the par-fives well like you have to around here, those are two key things. If I do those well over the next three days I should still have a chance."
Francesco Molinari celebrated his second PGA Tour hole-in-one when he "flushed" a four-iron straight at the pin at the 203-yard seventh hole, and the reigning Open champion went on to sign for a three-under 69 in only his third start of 2019.
The cameras were not able to capture Molinari's ace, but they were up-and-running when DA Points also had the honour of writing a "1" on his card at the same hole late in the afternoon, although his initial reaction to his tee shot did not indicate a clean strike.
Points appeared to catch his six-iron a little thin and he called for his ball to "get up" and over the front bunker. But after it cleared the trap and landed on the green, the American then shouted: "Now sit down and go in".
It did, and Points could not help but look a little embarrassed at his achievement as Zach Johnson and Ryan Armour stood by to offer high-fives.
