Daniel Berger extended his lead to five shots at the halfway stage of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, while Rory McIlroy moved up the leaderboard after an improved second round at Bay Hill.
Berger shot a stunning opening round 63 on Friday, including a 4-under 68, and added five birdies and a bogey to move to 13 under par to extend his lead over nearest challenger Akshay Bhatia.
Ludvig Åberg recovered from a mid-round wobble to shoot a second-round 71 and share third with Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala, while Rickie Fowler finished seventh after back-to-back 69s to finish sixth.
Ryder Cup players Xander Schauffele and Russell Henley were both tied for seventh as McIlroy, the 2018 champion, cracked the top 10 after rebounding from a slow start to shoot a 4-under 68.
McIlroy moves before Berger extends the lead
McIlroy, who was looking for a quick start after a level par 72, opened with three pars in a row, recorded a two-putt birdie at the par-5 4th hole, found water with his second shot, and made a bogey at the par-4 8th hole.
McIlroy opened the back nine with a 12-foot birdie (beating the crowd off the tee and hitting 338 yards) and made consecutive gains starting at the 12th hole, then took advantage of the par-5 14th to move to 5 under par, 9 shots back from the weekend.
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Rory McIlroy hit a 338-yard drive over the heads of fans surrounding the tee box on the par-4 10th hole.
“I’m very happy,” McIlroy said. “I fell into the water in the eighth, but I made a nice putt, and I felt like that kept the momentum going throughout the round.
“I played the last 10 holes really, really well. Overall, I was really happy with it. It was a very controlled and patient round of golf, which is what you need to do here. It was a really good day.”
Rory McIlroy will defend his title at The Players next week, live on Sky Sports Golf from Thursday.
McIlroy joins Bud Culley, Chris Gotterup, Cameron Young, Ryan Fox and Lee Min-woo at 9 under, but Berger remains a player to catch as he seeks his first PGA Tour win since 2021.
“I played better today and I don’t think my score was that low,” Berger said. “It’s just one of those courses. It’s risky. You have to be patient and accept what the course has to offer and take advantage of the opportunities when they arise, because there isn’t much out there.”
Daniel Berger’s last PGA Tour win came at the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler finished tied for 15th after shots of 70 and 71, and Tommy Fleetwood rebounded from a 4-over 76 on Thursday to avoid missing the cut after shooting a second-round 69.
Shane Lowry, who squandered a late lead at last week’s Cognizant Classic, shot a 1-over 73 and missed the cut, Justin Rose struggled with an 8-over 80 and Justin Thomas stayed up the leaderboard with back-to-back 79s since returning to the PGA Tour.
Coverage of the Arnold Palmer Invitational continues on Saturday on Sky Sports Golf from 2.30pm and Sky Sports Main Event from 5.30pm. Stream the PGA Tour and more without a contract.
