Wyndham Clark handles a stressful test at Bay Hill to lead by 2

ORLANDO: Wyndham Clark handled a stressful day at Bay Hill by eliminating as much trouble as possible. Two late birdies as the wind finally waned carried him to a 5-under 67 and a two-shot lead Thursday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

It was clear from the start Bay Hill was going to be a beast with cold weather and big wind on a course with thick rough and putting surfaces that already had a yellow sheen to them.

Clark, with a pitching wedge to 2 feet on the 18th for one final birdie, had the highest score to lead the tournament in eight years.

Only 14 players broke par, the fewest in 36 years at Bay Hill with an asterisk — this now is a signature event with only 72 players in the field, compared with 120.

But it was tough.

“Pick your poison out here — you can probably create a story with whatever it is,” defending champion Scottie Scheffler said after the world’s No. 1 player shot 71. “The greens are tough, the rough is high, and the wind is up.”

Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, Shane Lowry, Corey Conners and Christiaan Bezuidenhout were the only other players to break 70, each with a 69. Rory McIlroy was poised to join them until a bogey on the final hole to join the group at 70.

Lowry was watching some of the feature groups on streaming before his afternoon tee time and didn’t like what he saw — Cameron Young on his way to an 82, Max Homa with an 81 and, unlike last week at PGA National, a premium on par.

“I turned on the TV and watched some golf this morning and it didn’t look much fun out there. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to my round,” Lowry said. “But I think we got favorable conditions. Even though it wasn’t easy, I felt like did I a good job of making my way around the golf course. I was