ORLANDO, Fla. -- Equipped with his first PGA Tour lead in 67 starts, Morgan Hoffmann played Friday like he wanted to keep it in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Hoffman made birdies on half of his holes for a 7-under 65, giving him a three-shot lead over Henrik Stenson, Harris English and defending champion Matt Every going into the weekend on soft and defenseless Bay Hill.
Stenson, English and Every each had a 66.
Rory McIlroy also got into the mix -- finally -- by making five consecutive birdies on his back nine for a 66, his first sub-70 score in three PGA Tour events this year. He was five shots behind and headed in the right direction in his final start before the Masters.
Bay Hill has greens that are so stressed that they will be replaced this summer. They are slow and receptive, a recipe for low scoring, and it shows.
Hoffmann was at 13-under 131, one short of the 36-hole record at Bay Hill. The cut was at 142, matching the lowest score to make the cut in 27 years at Bay Hill. It was the first time the cut was under par, but only because the tournament changed par to 70 (instead of 72) in 2008.
"I'm trying to birdie every hole out there, so it was good," Hoffmann said. "Just hitting great putts and good shots into the greens really helps. It's nice to hit some greens for a change. This year hasn't been that great, and it's a good change."
McIlroy was treading water Friday morning until an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-3 second hold got him going. He birdied the next four holes, though he lost some momentum at the end with a bogey on No. 8 and a scrambling par on his final hole.
"It would be nice to finish the round off a little better, but still a good score and sets me up well for the weekend," McIlroy said. "I think each and every day I'm feeling a little more comfortable, especially on the greens. Obviously, we played in the morning so we got the best of the greens, and it's easier to trust the lines you pick for yourself. But happy with how I putted today, and putt like that over the weekend, I'll have a chance."
McIlroy, playing in Palmer's tournament for the first time, had dinner with the King on Thursday night after his opening round. They chatted more about commercial possibilities and old-time golf stories than McIlroy's bid to win the Masters and complete the career Grand Slam.
Palmer also insisted McIlroy have a banana split.
"I'll be going to the gym this afternoon," McIlroy said. "It was fantastic, it really was. He's telling stories of the old days and talking about a few of the things he's done more from a commercial standpoint, the drink and golf courses and all this sort of stuff -- stuff that I could potentially be getting into in the future."
David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) had a 5-under 67 which included six birdies as he jumped into a tie for sixth place with McIlroy and two others.
Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) began the day in second place and ended it in a tie for 40th after a 2-over 74 which left him 10 shots behind Hoffmann. Duke's round included three bogeys, a double bogey as well as a birdie and an eagle on the par-5 16th.
WEB.COM
Three share lead in Chile
SANTIAGO, Chile -- South African Dawie van der Walt, Australia's Brett Drewitt and Wes Roach of Knoxville, Tenn., share the 36-hole lead at the Web.com Tour's Chile Classic.
The three all stand at 12-under 130 at Club de Golf Mapocho, the only public course in the country. Drewitt and Roach both posted 7-under 64s in Friday's second round while van der Walt had a 5-under 66.
Veteran Craig Barlow (64) holds down solo fourth at 11-under 131. Eight others are packed together at 10-under 132.
Sebastian Cappelen (Arkansas Razorbacks) and Zack Fischer (Little Rock) are part of an eight-way tie for 18th at 7 under. Andrew Landry (Razorbacks) eagled the first hole on his way to a 4-under 67 and sits at 6 under.
Tag Ridings (Razorbacks) made the 4-under cut on the number after a 3-under 68 which included four birdies on the front nine. Scott Gardiner (Farmington) missed the cut after a 6-over 77.
CHAMPIONS
Ace keys leader's round
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Jerry Smith had a hole-in-one and shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to take the first-round lead in the Champions Tour's inaugural Tucson Conquistadores Classic.
Smith, 50, used a 5-iron on the 212-yard seventh hole -- his 16th hole of the day -- on Tucson National's Catalina Course. He played the final nine holes in 6-under 30, making birdies on Nos. 2, 3, 6 and 8.
Colin Montgomerie, David Frost, Steve Pate and Marco Dawson were tied for second at 67.
Kirk Triplett, the winner of the PGA Tour's final Tucson Open in 2006 at Tucson National, was three strokes back at 68 along with Bart Bryant and Corey Pavin.
Jesper Parnevik had a 71 in his Champions Tour debut.
Sports on 03/21/2015