Stark County's Justin Lower takes early lead at 'Arnold Palmer,' with $4 million to winner
Justin Lower got hot in Orlando and shared the early lead in one of the more prestigious events on the PGA Tour.
Lower was in the second group to tee off Thursday morning at Bay Hill Country Club in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
His 5-under 67 made him the leader in the clubhouse for quite a while. Eventually, 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyana carded a 67 to pull even with Lower before 2015 WGC-Bridgestone and 2019 British Open champion Shane Lowry put up a 66 to grab the lead. Defending champion Kurt Kitayama shot 78.
Lower has made five of six cuts in 2024, but he wouldn't have qualified for the limited field at Bay Hill had he not tied for third place in the recent Mexican Open.
Lower was a modest 2 under par Thursday when he bogeyed No. 14, failing to drop a 10-foot putt for par. He bounced back with three birdies in the last four holes.
On No. 15, a dog-legged 472-yard par 4, he drove into a fairway bunker but hit his second shot to within 19 inches.
On the par-5 16th, he carried a creek with his second shot but had to work out of a sand trap and make a 9-foot putt.
On the 457-yard No. 18, he sailed a drive into the fairway, hit his 181-yard second shot to within 7 feet, and putted into the middle of the cup.
Unlike the Mexican Open, "the Arnold Palmer" is peppered with big names. All 10 of the top-10 players in 2024 Tour rankings are vying, along with other notables.
Nick Taylor, Chris Kirk and Jordan Spieth finished their opening rounds two shots behind Lower. Jason Day and Scottie Scheffler were in a group 3 shots back.
Rory McIlroy (plus-2) and Rickie Fowler (plus-3) headed for Friday near the bottom of the 69-man field.
Golf legend Arnold Palmer was in his heyday long before Lower was born, but the legend of Arnie is well known to the 34-year-old former Northwest High School and Malone University player who lives in Green.
While at Malone, Lower won the 2010 Arnold Palmer Award after finishing first at the NAIA Men’s Golf Championship.
After his round Thursday, Lower told PGA.com a story about being a volunteer in the 2002 Senior PGA Championship at Firestone Country Club. As he was watching Palmer and Jack Nicklaus play together in a practice round, Palmer hit a green-side spectator with a shot on No. 8.
“It hit me ... it will grow back, though,” Lower recalls the fan telling Palmer. "Anybody want to hit the next shot?"
Lower was close enough to get in on the joke, telling Palmer he would be glad to do the job.
"I had my hand on his wedge, and this huge hand out of nowhere just comes back … and he’s like, ‘Don’t worry, son. I’ll take it from here,’” Lower told PGA.com.
Lower found out he qualified for the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Monday. Had he not made the field, he planned to skip the Puerto Rico Open.
Taking the lead Thursday was a drastic turnaround from last week, when Lower missed the cut at the Cognizant Classic. It was his first missed cut after five "makes" in a row to start 2024.
The winner of this week's tournament will pocket $4 million from a total purse of $20 million. Lower is in his third year on the Tour, with career winnings of $2.67 million.
Yes, this would be his first Tour win. A tied for third at the Mexican Open was his previous best finish.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Stark County's Justin Lower cards first-round 67 at 'Arnold Palmer'
