The leader, Corey Conners, – photo Getty Sam Greenwood
Jason Day is the leading Australian through 36 holes of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the Bay Hill Club in Orlando but if he is to repeat his 2016 victory in the event, he will need something very special over the weekend.
Day finds himself seven shots from the lead of Canadian Corey Conners but his task was not made any easier today when his tee shot at the par 5 16th stuck in a tree, forcing drastic measures just to identify the ball.
“I don’t know where he got the rules official got the binoculars it from, but it was actually he came in and zoomed in on it, said Day when describing the unusual occurrence. “So I’ve got the ball, well I don’t have the ball, but like I could see the Tour B XS on the logo on the side and I’m like, That’s it, that’s perfect.
“So a little unfortunate that it got stuck up, it was literally in a nest, so I think the mama birdie’s going to come back and find another egg there, so it’s unfortunate, but it is what it is.”
Day began at the 10th in round two and two double bogeys before the turn had him on the back foot before turning for home.
Three birdies on the way in had him moving in the right direction but a bogey at his final hole after finding the greenside bunker was a disappointment after his recovery.
New Zealander Danny Lee was the only other Australasian to make the weekend and is in 38th place while Matt Jones, Cameron Davis, Cameron Percy and Marc Leishman have the weekend to do other things.
The leader, Conners, has missed the cut at his only two starts in the event to date but his rounds of 66 and 69 have him one ahead of Scot, Martin Laird, who won this event ten years ago.
Conners, the winner of the 2019 Texas Open, has been in consistent form in recent months although he did miss the cut at his last start at the Riviera Country Club.
“I haven’t really been in this position a lot, but I have a lot of confidence in my game and feeling really relaxed the last few days, so try and keep that going,” said Conners. “I feel like I have a lot of energy, I had an off week last week and really excited for the weekend.
