Woods surges into contention at Bay Hill

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — In their own way, Jason Gore and Tiger Woods changed their fortunes Thursday at Bay Hill.

Gore was not seeing any results from an overhaul to his swing until he ran off three birdies over the final four holes for a 5-under 65 that gave him a one-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Woods was in the water, in the trees and in a foul mood until he had eight consecutive one-putts — including four straight birdies — that put him in a good frame of mind with a 68 on a course where he has won five times as a pro.

“I was not hitting it well, and I had to scramble and grind it out and manage to score,” Woods said. He managed just fine, taking only 24 putts in the first round after ranking 74th in putting out of 79 players at Doral two weeks ago.

Tim Herron, who won Bay Hill in a playoff 10 years ago, and Jeff Overton had a 66, while the group at 67 included Nick Watney and Mark Wilson, , who had reason to feel outclassed on the first tee but more than held his own.

Wilson was in the same group as Woods and Padraig Harrington, who have won five of the last six majors. Wilson has his own history with Woods, having lost a late lead in 1992 when Woods rallied to win his second U.S. Junior Amateur.

But Wilson had the best day of the threesome. Harrington saved par from the water on the 18th for a 70.Woods hit a tee shot into the water at No. 6 for double bogey, was lucky to escape with pars at the turn and made four birdies on the back nine to get off to a good start.

Gore is a PGA Tour winner, but the golf hasn’t gone so well lately.

He lost his PGA Tour card last year, then decided after Q-school to work with Mike Abbott and redo his swing.

Ryo Ishikawa, the 17-year-old from Japan, hit two balls in the water on the par-5 sixth and made a 9 on his way to a 76. Jim Furyk, who tumbled down the leaderboard in Tampa after the first round, opened with a 78. Fred Couples had an 80. Jason Day didn’t finish, feeling so sick at the turn that he was driven off the course at the turn.

Davis Love III had a 73 and was around the cut line going into the second round. Love is No. 47 in the world and likely will have to make the cut to hold his position in the top 50 and qualify for the Masters. Right behind him in the ranking is Louis Oosthuizen, who had a triple bogey and a double bogey in a span of four holes but rallied for a 72.