Shane Lowry rang up six birdies in a 5-under-par 67 to establish a two-shot lead halfway through the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Friday in Orlando, Fla.
The Irishman stands at 8-under 136 after his stellar second round. He passed 18-hole leader Wyndham Clark, who posted a 71 Friday and is alone in second at 6 under.
Lowry set the tone for his round by sinking a 20 1/2-foot birdie putt at the par-3 second hole at Bay Hill Club & Lodge. He added a 14-foot birdie at the par-3 seventh, his third of the day, and drained a 35-footer for birdie at No 13.
Lowry, 37, placed third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last year and is gunning for his first individual win since the 2022 BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour. He and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy did team up to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans last year.
Collin Morikawa (68) and Canada's Corey Conners (70) share third at 5 under. Jason Day posted the best round of the tournament thus far, an 8-under 64, to shoot up to 4 under; he's tied with McIlroy, who shot his second straight 70, and Russell Henley (68).
Justin Thomas (70), Max Greyserman (71) and Keegan Bradley (72) are tied at 3 under. World No 1 Scottie Scheffler settled for an even-par 72 and is part of a tie at 1 under.
Because it's a player-hosted invitational, the $20 million signature event features a 36-hole cut to the top 50 players and ties. Notables who will miss the cut of 4 over par include Norway's Viktor Hovland (5 over), Max Homa (7 over), Cameron Young (9 over) and South Korea's Tom Kim (10 over).