Scott matches Bay Hill record

Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla.

Masters champion Adam Scott was feeling ill when he arrived at Bay Hill. One majestic round with the putter Thursday made him feel a lot better.

Scott made five putts from about 20 feet or longer, two of them for eagle and one of them from off the green for birdie, and matched the course record with a 10-under 62 to build a three-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The conditions were close to perfect. So was his work on the greens.

“I made a lot of putts today, and a lot of putts from considerable length,” Scott said. “I hit a lot of nice shots, too, but it wasn’t like I was hitting it 4 feet. I had a round like this in Australia at the end of last year — in the first six holes, I didn’t hit it outside 5 feet. There’s a lot of different ways to get the ball in the hole. But it’s good for the confidence. It’s what I wanted. I sat in here yesterday and said I’d like to make some birdies and build the confidence. And today is a good start to that.”

Warren JFK graduate Jason Kokrak is tied for fifth after a first-round 67, including seven birdies.

Ryo Ishikawa, who uses Bay Hill as his home course on the East Coast, birdied the 18th for a 65. John Merrick celebrated his 32nd birthday by reaching 8 under until a late bogey. He also shot 65.

Both were 10 shots behind before they hit their first shot of the tournament.

“That took the pressure off,” Merrick said. “You’re already 10 shots behind, so it’s not like you’re protecting anything. But this isn’t the Bay Hill I remember. I don’t usually play golf in Florida without 20 mph wind.”

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano had his best round of the year with a 66. Brandt Snedeker and Paul Casey were among those at 67. They were all but forgotten with Scott’s 62 on the board.

Scott walked from the ninth green across the practice range to the scoring trailer as one player after another turned his head and asked how low Scott went on the day. One caddie quipped, “Is there a 10-shot rule when you haven’t teed off?”

It was the lowest round in 30 years at Bay Hill, and it was good enough to make a large gallery following Scott forget for a moment that defending champion Tiger Woods is not here this week because of a back injury.

Andy Bean in 1981 and Greg Norman in 1984 are the only other players with a 62 at Bay Hill.

After watching Scott make another putt — this one from 20 feet for eagle on No. 4 — U.S. Open champion Justin Rose asked if Scott could get to No. 1 if he were to win at Bay Hill. The answer: no and yes. He couldn’t overtake Woods this week, but likely would go to No. 1 over the next few weeks if neither played.

Scott had reason to be mildly surprised by this round. For one thing, he had not been to Bay Hill in five years. Scott typically plays Innisbrook, but decided to mix it up. And he does have some experience on the bag. His caddie is Steve Williams, who worked for Woods in six of the eight Bay Hill wins.

Even more surprising, though, is that Scott said he was coping with flu-like symptoms, and still doesn’t feel completely healthy.

“It’s hard to say that I’m sick,” Scott said with a smile. “I feel actually better now than when I woke up. Just a bit under the weather. I can’t complain.”