the northern irish Rory McIlroy leads with 65 strokes (7 under par) the PGA Tour tournament Arnold Palmer Invitational, which is played at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida (United States) followed by the Americans Beau Hossler, JJ Spaun and Billy Horschel, with 67. McIlroy, fifth in the world ranking and who already won this tournament in 2018, is the provisional leader as a result of an eagle on the 16th hole -par 5-, six birdies and only one bogey failure on the 11th hole, while Hossler scored six birdies for one bogey; Spaun five birdies and Horschel an eagle -hole 16-, five birdies and two bogeys.
The Spaniards did not have a good performance today, thus, the number one in the world, the Biscayan Jon Rahm, delivered a card of 72 strokes (pair)while the Castellón Sergio García signed a 75 (+3) on this first day. The one from Barrika presented a card with four birdies for as many bogeys while things were worse for Sergio García, who finished the day with +3 by adding four birdies for seven bogeys that make it difficult for him to make the cut this Friday.
The Colombian Sebastián Muñoz finished today in the same position as Rahm, with three birdies for three bogeys, while the Mexican Carlos Ortiz and the Chilean Rory Sabbatini finished with five strokes over par and have a difficult time making the cut. The tournament, which concludes this Sunday, awards $12 million in prize money, more than $1.6 million to the winner, and 550 FedExCup points.
Puerto Rico
the americans Chase Seiffert and Michael Kim lead the fourteenth edition of the Puerto Rico Open of golf at the end of the first day of the tournament with 65 shots, 5 under par for the course. The opening day of this official PGA TOUR tournament, which is held at the Grand Reserve Golf Club in Río Grande, in the eastern area of Puerto Rico, saw Ryan Brehm, also an American, take third place with 66 strokes (- 6). The Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat follows closely with 67 shots (-5), while the Australian Aaron Baddeley obtained the same score and closes the classification of the top five of the opening day of the Puerto Rican tournament.
Leader Seiffert made birdies on four of the first five holes in his debut to finish with 65 strokes, 7 under par, leading a tournament in this category for the first time. Kim also had an outstanding debut to open with a bogeyless 65.
Puerto Rican Rafael Campos made birdies on the last two holes to finish with 70 strokes (-2). Campos was far from the result he obtained at the beginning of last year, when he managed 66 strokes on the first day, six over par. The local golfer opened for par on his first three holes, bogeyed his fourth and matched his play on the fifth with a birdie. He then played par on the next four holes and added important birdies on the 10th and 12th holes, but the advantage he had gained vanished on the 13th and 14th holes when he shot both for bogey. The Spanish Rafael Cabrera Bello had to settle for 69 strokes (-3).
The first day of the tournament stood out for being a hot day and with a discreet presence of the public. Since 2008, the Puerto Rico Open has launched the careers of PGA TOUR stars such as Viktor Hovland, Tony Finau, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Jason Day and Emiliano Grillo, making it a coveted tournament. It is part of the 2021-2022 PGA TOUR season schedule, which began in September 2021 and consists of 48 official tournaments, 45 FedExCup regular-season events and three playoff events.