Orlando: Indian-American Sahith Theegala was placed tied fourth at the end of the first round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Theegala was lying two shots behind the leader Ireland’s Shane Lowry (66). Theegala, who had an eagle and a double bogey in his round, was tied for fourth place with Lee Hodges, Sam Burns and Russell Henley.
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who had a lower back pain, carded 5-under 67 to lie tied second alongside Justin Lower at the PGA TOUR Signature Event, a release said.
Theegala, ranked 22nd in the world, has missed just one cut in six starts. He was runner-up at the season-opener The Sentry and was fifth at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Arizona. He was also T-20 at AT&T Pebble Beach.
Matsuyama holds the record of most PGA TOUR wins by an Asian golfer with nine titles. He started the week with a sore back but navigated his way around Bay Hill brilliantly to end the day in tied second place.
With his record victory at the Genesis Invitational, which is hosted by Tiger Woods, and his maiden PGA TOUR title at the 2014 Memorial Tournament, which is hosted by Jack Nicklaus, Matsuyama is eyeing a unique treble of wins as this week’s event is held in honour of the late Arnold Palmer.
