Tommy Fleetwood and Keegan Bradley share the lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational after 36 holes of play at the Bay Hill Club.
Fleetwood posted a low-round 66, highlighted by a pair of par-5 eagles (Nos. 6 and 12) to reach a two-day total of 9-under par.
“On tough courses, if the par-5s are – if you can score on the par-5s, you can shoot a good score,” said Fleetwood. “And that’s basically where I made all my numbers up today.”
Co-leader Bradley carded a 68 which included six birdies against two bogeys to secure a share of the lead.
“I’m just I’m putting very well this week. I’m very comfortable on this course,” said Bradley. “I had some nice up-and-downs early on in the round and I made a couple longer putts towards the end that were big.
“I’m very comfortable on this course, it fits my eye well and I’m looking forward to the weekend.”
The lead duo were four shots clear of a half-dozen players deadlocked on 5-under par, including reigning British Open champion Francesco Molinari (70), and last week’s Honda winner Keith Mitchell (68).
Kevin Kisner (69), Roger Sloan (69), Jhonattan Vegas (70), and Billy Horschel (71) were the others in the T3 group.
A logjam of ten more players were T9 on 4-under par, including major winners Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed, and Henrik Stenson.
Defending champion, and tournament favorite, Rory McIlroy posted a 70 and was seven shots back on 2-under par.
Phil Mickelson followed up a round-one 68 with a day-two 78 and missed the cut. Brooks Koepka also missed the weekend after opening rounds of 74 and 73.
LEADERS THRU ROUND 2
1. Tommy Fleetwood -9 (-6)
1. Keegan Bradley -9 (-4)
3. Keith Mitchell -5 (-4)
3. Kevin Kisner -5 (-3)
3. Roger Sloan -5 (-3)
3. Francesco Molinari -5 (-2)
3. Jhonattan Vegas -5 (-2)
3. Billy Horschel -5 (-1)
9. 10 Players Tied -4
