Laird cards 65 to lead in Florida

Laird leads the Bay Hill event by one shot

Scotland’s Martin Laird leads the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida after a seven under par round of 65.

Laird, who took advantage of less blustery afternoon conditions, sunk a 12-foot birdie putt on the last to ensure his lead at the halfway stage.

“The eagle on the 16th was a real turning point for me. If that hadn’t hit the hole, it would have gone about 10ft by,” said Laird.

KJ Choi hit the round of the day with a 64, and is just one shot behind Laird.

South Korea’s Choi is level on eight under par with Spencer Levin, who slipped from first on the leaderboard with a disappointing round of 70.

Levin continued the form which brought him a six-under-par 66 on Thursday as his front nine featured three birdies, but dropped shots on the 14th and 17th pegged the American back.

Impressive rounds of 67 and 65 respectively left Steve Marino and Charles Howell III in a share of fourth place, two shots behind on six under.

Six-time Bay Hill winner Tiger Woods hit a 68 to remain in contention having carded a less than impressive first round score of 73.

“I had a hard time getting the ball to the hole today,” Woods said after a round of five birdies and just one bogey.

“I was very surprised how slow the greens were today. They must have soaked them pretty good last night because balls were holding, they were spinning back a little bit, very different than what we had yesterday,” said Woods.

“We are trying to build towards the first major and that’s kind of how my game is. It’s building and it’s coming.”

But the day belonged to Laird, who is chasing his fourth PGA Tour title.