Arnold Palmer Invitational: Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry make early progess at Bay Hill in Florida

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry overcame difficult conditions to put themselves in contention after first round at Bay Hill; defending champion Scottie Scheffler also in the mix but Xander Schauffele shoots five-over 77; watch round two from 12.30pm on Friday on Sky Sports

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry overcame difficult conditions to put themselves in contention after the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Florida.

Ireland’s Lowry carded a three-under-par 69 to tie for second place alongside USA’s Keegan Bradley, Canada’s Corey Conners and South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

World No 2 McIlroy shot a two-under 70 to sit three shots adrift of early pacesetter Wyndham Clark, who registered three birdies in the final six holes to record a five-under 67 and lead by two strokes.

Strong winds restricted the scoring with Lowry and McIlroy both dropping a shot on the 18th.

Lowry said afterwards: “I turned on the TV and watched some golf this morning, and it didn’t look much fun out there.

“I wasn’t particularly looking forward to my round but I think we got favourable conditions. Even though it wasn’t easy, I felt like I did a good job of making my way around the golf course. I was pretty happy with my result.”

McIlroy: I have made a good start

McIlroy, who won at Bay Hill in 2018, added: “I think the guys that teed off a little later got a little bit of a reprieve. It was still breezy, but not quite as tough as the guys got it this morning. A couple under was a good start.

“I think the course demands good ball-striking. You have to really control your flight and distance very well with your irons. That’s something that I’ve been working on quite a lot and feel like I’m pretty good at that.

“It’s a great second-shot golf course and I feel like that’s why I’ve excelled here.”

England’s Justin Rose was briefly in the lead on the front nine but pushed his tee shot out of bounds at the ninth and carded a double-bogey before signing for a 70 to sit alongside McIlroy on two under.