Ryo Ishikawa finishes the first round of Arnold Palmer Invitational by scoring 73
Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa is playing at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. He scored a 73 in the first round, at the Floridian site of Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando.
The 20-year-old, who recently received an invitation for the first major of the year, faced several hurdles.
He was inconsistent with scoring, at the sixth event staged by Professional Golf Association in the current year.
Ishikawa opened the round with a double-bogey and carded an unimpressive bogey on the second hole of the day. It was the worst start of the Japanese in the current year.
Then he moved with a par and scored his first birdie on the 4th hole. Later, he continued hitting pars till the 10th hole.
However, soon after, he again lost his focus and recorded another two bogeys on the 11th and 15th holes.
After such a mediocre performance, it is difficult to score an eagle, but he did so. Ishikawa tremendously improved his driving distance and accuracy from the 16th hole.
He cheered his fans by recording an eagle on the 16th and a birdie on the 17th hole. His performance on the last three holes was amazing.
The current year is not so appealing for the young rising star. He finished the round by scoring a 1-over par 73 on the leaderboard.
“I thought I played well. There were occasions when my timing was off but I didn't have any problem with my swing,'' said Ishikawa.
He added, ''I'm delighted with the eagle. That was a little reward for the way I hit my tee shot and pinpoint second shot".
At the end of the day, he was seven strokes behind the two leaders, Jason Dufner and Charlie Wi.
Both shared the top position by scoring a 6-under 66. They carded many birdies and there is only one bogey from both.
The hottest golf player, Tiger Woods, is also playing his best in Florida. He scored a 3-under 69 and was only three strokes behind the leaders.
Now the competition is tough and on its new highs. All the players are hoping to win the $6 million purse. Out of the total purse, the winner will earn $1,080,000, with additional 500 FedEx Cup points.
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