SHANE Lowry fired his was to a second round four-under-par round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The Offaly ace the solo leader after his second round at Bay Hill Golf and Lodge in South Florida.
2019 Open winner Lowry finished third on the course last year with Wydham Clark and eventual winner Scottie Scheffler ahead of him on the leaderboard.
American Clark is his closest challenger on the leaderboard, just two behind the Irishman on six-under.
Lowry’s performance has been made all the more spectacular as he searches for a new driver.
The Clara native admitted to media on Thursday that something was off with his driver at last week’s Cognizant Classic before admitting that he didn’t even know what driver was in his bag after testing out at least 15 on the range.
He carded three birdies on his front nine to make the turn in 33 before another one on 10, 13 prior to his only blemish on the par 5 16th.
He signed off with a 17-foot birdie to card a 67 on the notoriously tough course for a midway total of -8.
Rory McIlroy, who is playing alongside Lowry is also in the hunt after a two-under-par round of 70.
He’s four behind leader Lowry on a tournament total of -4.
Elsewhere, Max Kennedy made an impressive PGA Tour debut in Puerto Rico.
The Irishman is sitting in tied-10th after an opening round 67 at the rain-interrupted Puerto Rican Open at Grand Reserve CC.
The 23-year-old Kennedy competes on the HotelPlanner Tour, formerly the Challenge Tour, Europe’s second-tier circuit.
He secured a place in the Puerto Rican Open by winning last year’s General Hackler Championship with the University of Louisville.
While the Arnold Palmer Invitational Signature tournament takes centre stage at Bay Hill, only seven of the world’s top 100 are in action at Grand Reserve.
