Christiaan Bezuidenhout held on to make the cut after a second-round one-over-par 73 in the PGA Tour’s signature event, the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard at Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida.
It is something of a cursory cut, designed to keep LIV Golf fanatics in their boxes, as only 11 of 69 players missed the cut – but those did include the likes of major champions Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose and Collin Morikawa.
Bezuidenhout made the cut on the number, three-under-par, which was 10 strokes off the lead which was shared by five other major champions in Shane Lowry, Hideki Matsuyama, Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark and world number on Scottie Scheffler. Adding to the logjam at the top of the leaderboard at seven-under par was Russell Henley of the United States. Those six players all led by one from Will Zalatoris.
Erik van Rooyen also had a one-over-par 73 in his second round, and slipped to a share of 42nd on one-over-par for the tournament.
As beautiful as she looks, Arnold Palmer’s beloved Bay Hill Club & Lodge can become a Little House of Horrors, even for the best golfers in the world. Friday was difficult, but it also was just a warm-up act. The golf course, as planned, is expected to get a little meaner each day, especially with no rain forecast for the weekend. Narrow fairways, lush, thick rough, greens getting firmer by the hour, tricky winds… Just wait until the weekend rolls around!
