Corey Conners battled strong gusts and a tough Bay Hill course to post a solid three-under 69 that had him two shots back of the lead after the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Conners is tied with Shane Lowry, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Keegan Bradley, behind leader Wyndham Clark.

Teeing off just after noon, Conners missed most of the worst of the winds which were strong when play began but eased up as the day went on. Still, trying to measure the waning intensity on each shot provided plenty of challenge

“It was really a lot breezier this morning when we started our round than it was at the end,” said Conners.........

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