Shane Lowry leads the way at Arnold Palmer Invitational

An opening round 66 saw Shane Lowry move into the first round lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida.

Lowry's surge after the turn at Bay Hill propelled him to a round of six under par, a shot clear of Justin Lower and Hideki Matsuyama.

FULL LEADERBOARD

A birdie at 16 saw Seamus Power finish level par with a round of 72, one shot better than Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy laboured to three bogeys on the front nine and dropped another at the 12th on his way to an opening round 73.

Lowry will begin the second round as the man to catch, with the bulk of his scoring work carried out after the turn.

On the front nine, a birdie at the second was all that broke up a steady scorecard of pars, but the Offaly man reeled off three birdies and an eagle in the next four holes.

Birdie-Birdie-Eagle start to his back nine.@ShaneLowryGolf is tied for the lead thanks to this eagle chip-in on No. 12. pic.twitter.com/HaFa2DyMH9

The par-five 12th was undoubtedly the highlight of the round.

A booming drive down the middle of the fairway was followed by sublime iron play that left the 36-year-old just off the edge of the green, 18 feet from the hole.

Lowry chipped in for the eagle, and while a bogey at 14 halted the momentum, a fifth and final birdie of the afternoon arrived at 17 after landing his tee shot within eight feet of the flag.