The Daily Wrap-up, Round 1: Arnold Palmer Invitational

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Jason Gore shot his best round of the year on Thursday, a 5-under 65, to grab a one-stroke lead at Bay Hill.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- In their own way, Jason Gore and Tiger Woods changed their fortunes Thursday at Bay Hill.

RELATED LINKS

Leaderboard: Round 1 scores
Round 2 tee times
Scorecard: Jason Gore
The Live Report: Round 1
Ross: Gore and The King
Player interviews
Notebook: Tidbits from the course
Photos: Round 1

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Round 1 highlights
Tiger's chip-in birdie
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Gore was not seeing any results from an overhaul to his swing until he ran off three birdies over the final four holes for a 5-under 65 that gave him a one-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.

Woods was in the water, in the trees and in a foul mood until he had eight consecutive one-putts -- including four straight birdies -- that put him in a good frame of mind with a 68 on a course where he has won five times as a pro.

"I was not hitting it well, and I had to scramble and grind it out and manage to score," Woods said. He managed just fine, taking only 24 putts in the first round after ranking 74th in putting out of 79 players at Doral two weeks ago.

Tim Herron, who won at Bay Hill in a playoff 10 years ago, and Jeff Overton had a 66, while the group at 67 included the ever-present Nick Watney and Mark Wilson, who had reason to feel outclassed on the first tee but more than held his own.

Wilson was in the same group as Woods and Padraig Harrington, who have won five of the last six majors. Wilson has his own history with Woods, having lost a late lead in 1992 when Woods rallied to win his second U.S. Junior Amateur.

But Wilson had the best day of the threesome. Harrington saved par from the water on the 18th for a 70.

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GORE TRYING TO CREATE ANOTHER ARNIE MOMENT
By Helen Ross, Chief of Correspondents

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Jason Gore was 11 years old, dressed in a T-shirt and a pair of brightly colored yellow, pink, blue and red shorts that he remembers now, somewhat sheepishly, as being "obnoxiously terrible."

He looked like a surfer, not the budding golfer he was becoming. But Gore and his mother drove up to Latrobe Country Club like they owned the place and asked whether Arnold Palmer would be around that day.

He was on his way, so the Gores waited until Palmer toodled up in what looked like a cross between a golf cart and a tractor. Palmer posed for a picture with Gore, signed a scorecard and then asked the youngster if he wanted to watch him hit balls.

The little surfer-dude turned range rat jumped at the chance.

"I sat right on the little slope right behind the first tee and watched Mr. Palmer hit balls for about 45 minutes, and from that point on I knew I wanted to be a professional golfer," Gore said.

That was nearly 25 years ago. And Thursday, Gore, playing on a sponsor's exemption from the man himself, fired a 65 to grab sole possession of the lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.

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Top 5 other notables at Arnold Palmer Invitational

Name Score Position Comment Friday tee time Rocco Mediate 2 under T10 In the same field as Tiger Woods for first time since duel at U.S. Open, had five birdies and three bogeys. 8:13 a.m. Tiger Woods 2 under T10 Strung together four straight birdies on back to erase double-bogey on front and otherwise ho-hum round. 8:25 a.m. Padraig Harrington E T22 Irishman hit just 8 of 18 greens in regulation, but made up for it with just 24 putts in an up-and-down round. 8:25 a.m. David Toms 1 over T41 Despite a double bogey and two other bogeys, rebounded with three birdies, but still needed 31 putts. 12:55 p.m. Boo Weekley 2 over T57 Began day with two birdies before giving them back with three bogeys on front and costly double bogey on 18. 1:29 p.m.

Thursday's Best

EASIEST HOLE TOUGHEST HOLE The par-5 12th hole was easiest with a Thursday scoring average of 4.630. EAGLES: 4 BIRDIES: 44 PARS: 63 BOGEYS: 8 OTHERS: 0 The par-4 16th was toughest with a Thursday scoring average of 4.471. EAGLES: 0 BIRDIES: 6 PARS: 57 BOGEYS: 51 OTHERS: 5

SHOT OF THE DAY ROUND OF THE DAY Tiger Woods opened his round with a pitch-in birdie from 33 yards out on the first hole. Watch his shot Jason Gore had four birdies, an eagle and just one bogey on his way to the day's lowest score. Check out his scorecard

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I was hitting some good shots all day and just finally got a few things to click correctly, and I guess I didn't even realize what I was doing. I think most of my goofs come from lack of focus, and I just hit these "well, anyway" shots, and I'd just get over it and hit it and before I know it, it's gone." -- Jason Gore on closing with birdies on three of his last four holes.

INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Michael Collins offers these observations from Thursday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.

Tiger Woods ran his streak of shooting 68 to three rounds, but it was Mark Wilson's bogey-free 67 playing alongside Woods that impressed me. Unrattled by the throngs of people running around as he was trying to putt out, or making noise as he stood over a shot from the fairway, Wilson seemed in a good place mentally through it all.

His caddy, Chris "Crispy" Jones, was a big help. Crispy did everyhting a good caddy should in that situation, yelling at the crowd when needed and, more importantly, knowing when the movement and noise wasn't bothering Wilson.

If they can keep that good karma going in Round 2, they may just be playing behind Tiger on Saturday.

What the top finishers said...

Player Position Score Comment Jason Gore 1 5 under "The greens are definitely going to get harder and faster, and you can already start to see them turn purple. That's what makes this golf course great. You've got to really place your golf ball in the fairway with the right number and play conservative. You have to play conservatively aggressive to these flags. Sometimes hitting it 25 feet left with a 9-iron is a great shot. You just can't go at these pins and be silly." Tim Herron T2 4 under "Compared to the last few years I feel more ready. I'd say mechanically and everything, I feel like I'm hitting it well, I'm putting well, I'm chipping it well, my bunker play is always pretty good. Now it's just time to get some confidence and try to talk myself into being where I feel like I'm supposed to be at. That's the hardest part." Sean O'Hair T4 3 under "It's playing tough obviously because of the wind. You've got a lot of cross breezes and tee shots are tough. Obviously if you're in the rough all day, it's going to be a long day for you, so it's crucial to just hit fairways and hit a lot of greens and just try and give yourself as many chances at birdie because you're going to make bogeys out here."

Read full interview transcripts

Jason Gore Tim Herron Sean O'Hair Full archive

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FIRST-ROUND NOTEBOOK: ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL
By John Bush, PGA TOUR Staff

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Jason Gore posted a 5-under 65 Thursday to take the opening-round lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, one stroke clear of Tim Herron and Jeff Overton. In two previous appearances at Bay Hill, Gore has finished tied for 26th (2006) and missed the cut (2008).

• This marks the third time in Gore's career that he has held at least a share of the first-round lead. He carried the opening-round lead at the 2005 84 Lumber Classic on to the winner's circle, while he eventually finished tied for seventh after leading after the first round of the 2007 Frys.com Open.

• Gore currently sits No. 205 on the FedExCup points list, with three made cuts in seven starts. His last start yielded his best finish of the year -- a tie for 44th at the Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular. Thursday's 65 betters his previous best round this season by three shots -- a 68 during the second round of The 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer.

• Tim Herron sits just one back after a 4-under 66. It represents his first round in the 60s at the Arnold Palmer Invitational since an opening-day 68 in 2001. He had posted 25 consecutive rounds of 70 and above prior to Thursday's sub-70 score. In his 13 starts here (prior to 2009), Herron's opening-round average was 72.15.

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KODAK CHALLENGE: The first-of-its-kind competition for PGA TOUR players continues at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The Kodak Challenge celebrates beautiful holes and memorable moments on the PGA TOUR. The Kodak Challenge offers $1 million to the winner. There will be one designated Kodak Challenge Hole at 24 different PGA TOUR tournaments in 2009, with this week's featured hole the 411-yard par-4 18th.

Players, who must play at least 18 of the holes during the season to be eligible, will count their lowest score relative to par on the Kodak Challenge Hole made during an official competition round. The player, with the lowest cumulative score in relation to par at the end of the challenge, wins.

• For more on the Kodak Challenge, click here.