Rory McIlroy with 65 off to another great start at Bay Hill

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Rory McIlroy opened with a 7-under 65 on Thursday and had reason to expect a score like this at Bay Hill, not so much because of the course but rather the day of the week.

Good starts have not been a problem for McIlroy at the Arnold Palmer Invitational the last two years. Now it's about keeping them going to the finish line.

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With three birdies and a 40-foot eagle on the par 5s, McIlroy set a daunting target for Jon Rahm and the others playing in the afternoon. He drove the ball beautifully and was never in too much trouble when he missed the green.

He had a three-shot lead among early starters over Adam Scott, Graeme McDowell, Sungjae Im and Will Zalatoris.

"I think you turn up at any golf course where you've had success, and automatically you're going to have some confidence coming in," said McIlroy, who won at Bay Hill in 2018 and hasn't finished out of the top 10 the last five years.

He opened with a 66 each of the last two years, both times failing to break par on the weekend.

Rory McIlroy hits from the third tee box during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament Thursday, March 3, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

But there is a rhythm to playing Bay Hill that makes McIlroy comfortable, mainly taking advantage of the par 5s and some of the shorter par 4s. He had eagle putts on three of the par 5s, making the long one up the ridge on the 16th, his seventh hole of the round.

"I played the par 5s particularly well, and that was the bulk of the score," he said. "I've said this all along, you can play within yourself here and still shoot a good score, I