Aaron Wise claimed a three-stroke lead after shooting his second six-under 64 at the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens in Florida on Friday.

The 24-year-old 2018 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year capitalised on first-round leader Matt Jones' even round of 70 to move ahead at the halfway point, becoming the first player with multiple 64s or better in the same week at PGA National since 2007.

The American had never led a PGA Tour event after 36 holes, but he is in a strong position with Jones and Brandon Hagy (62) tied in second on nine under, with Sam Ryder (63) in fourth on eight under.

Wise mixed five birdies and two eagles with three bogeys to move clear.

"It's two great rounds of golf and I love that. I love that I'm playing good," Wise said.

"But this place can get to you pretty quick and there's a lot of golf left ahead and a lot of trouble out there."

Australian Jones had tied the course record on day one to take a three-stroke lead but let his advantage slip with four bogeys on his front nine.

Hagy surged into contention with the best round of the day, which included six birdies and an eagle on the 18th.

The 29-year-old American actually received a late call-up for the tournament, with his delayed arrival meaning he missed the practice rounds.

"I'm feeling like I'm playing on a little bit of house money, so I kept it pretty loose out there," Hagy said.

Ryder was the other big mover on Friday, with seven birdies for the day including long putts on the 12th and 15th.

Denny McCarthy (65), Scott Harrington (67), Russell Henley (69) and Irishman Shane Lowry (66) are all within striking distance, tied for fifth on seven under, ahead of Camilo Villegas, who shot a 65 on Friday to be at six under.

Stewart Cink and Brice Garnett both shot six-under 64s on day two to be among six players on five under tied for 10th.

After back-to-back runner-up finishes, Lee Westwood was among those to miss the cut, while Phil Mickelson survived after a triple bogey on the 11th.

Matt Jones tied the course record as the Australian sizzled to earn a three-stroke lead after the first round of The Honda Classic.

Jones was flawless on day one, carding a nine-under-par 61 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida on Thursday.

The 40-year-old, whose sole win on the PGA Tour came via the 2014 Houston Open, did not drop a shot as he birdied nine holes, including three in a row to close out the round.

Jones equalled the course record, while posting the lowest round of his professional career to top the leaderboard ahead of American pair Aaron Wise and 2014 champion Russell Henley.

Since 2007, there have been 6,202 rounds played at PGA National – Jones (10.49 in this year's first round) and Tiger Woods (10.12 in 2012 final round) are the only players to gain over 10 total strokes in a round.

"I play golf for a living," Jones said in response to his round. "I mean, I should be able to shoot a good golf score occasionally. It doesn't happen as much as I want.

"But yes, I'm very happy with it. I was very calm, I was very relaxed out there. I'm normally a bit more amped-up and hyped-up and I had a different goal this week, to be a little more calm than normally and walk slower."

Steve Stricker, Cameron Davis, Kevin Chappell, Scott Harrington and Joseph Bramlett are five shots off the pace heading into Friday's second round.

Defending champion Im Sung-jae opened his bid for back-to-back titles with a first-round 68, while former world number one and 2016 winner Adam Scott is a shot further back.

Following runner-up finishes in his last two starts on the PGA Tour – Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship – Lee Westwood opened his Honda Classic campaign with a 70.

Rickie Fowler, who won the tournament in 2017, is also even par alongside Westwood, while five-time major champion Phil Mickelson is a stroke worse off.

Fifteen-time major winner Tiger Woods has revealed he has left hospital and returned home as he recovers from last month's car crash which left him with multiple leg injuries.

The 45-year-old former world number one went on social media to provide an update on his health following the single-car rollover in California on February 23.

Woods suffered a comminuted open fracture in his right leg, requiring emergency surgery, while he also had additional injuries to his foot and ankle.

"Happy to report that I am back home and continuing my recovery," Woods tweeted. "I am so grateful for the outpouring of support and encouragement that I have received over the past few weeks.

"Thank you to the incredible surgeons, doctors, nurses and staff at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. You have all taken such great care of me and I cannot thank you enough.

"I will be recovering at home and working on getting stronger every day."

Justin Thomas claimed a one-stroke victory at The Players Championship after a run of three birdies and an eagle across four holes unseated overnight leader Lee Westwood on Sunday.

World number three and American star Thomas – fuelled by a four-under-par 64 – headed into the final round at TPC Sawgrass three strokes adrift of Westwood.

Westwood (72) had finished second at last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational, trailing Bryson DeChambeau (71), who was his nearest competitor again at the end of Saturday's play.

Westwood would be a runner-up once more, but this time was bested by Thomas, who stormed into the lead thanks to a frantic spell.

Westwood lacked momentum throughout his round and was back at 12 under – one over for the day – at the turn when Thomas took flight.

Thomas bogeyed the eighth but responded with a birdie at the ninth and suddenly found form.

He made three at the par-four 10th and then, with the day's decisive putt, claimed the lead outright with an eagle from 19 feet at 11. Another birdie at the next hole secured breathing space.

Although Westwood recovered to end the day as he started it, at 13 under, there was only a brief Thomas wobble with bogey at 14 followed by birdie at 16.

Thomas, who has a single major title at the 2017 US PGA Championship, claimed a maiden triumph at The Players and returned to the winner's circle for the first time since August's WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

It is also Thomas' 14th PGA Tour triumph, becoming the fourth player since 1960 to win 14 times on Tour before turning 28 – joining Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller.

"I fought so hard today," said Thomas, who tied the lowest final 36-hole score in Players history with his 64-68 (132) over the weekend. "I stayed patient. It was probably one of the best rounds of my life, tee to green."

Brian Harman used a final-round 69 to finish tied for third alongside U.S. Open champion DeChambeau – two shots behind Thomas.

Five-time major champion Phil Mickelson (71) and Jason Day (73) were among the players to end the tournament 35th in the standings, 11 shots off the pace.

Dustin Johnson (71) – the world number one – climbed up into a tie for 48th at one under, a stroke better off than Jordan Spieth (75), who is still without a win since 2017.

In-form Englishman Lee Westwood remains in pole position heading into the final day of The Players Championship, holding a two-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau at TPC Sawgrass.

Westwood, who was runner-up at last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational, was even through nine holes on Saturday before coming home with four birdies on the back nine to finish the day with a four-under 68.

The 47-year-old is at 13 under, ahead of last week's winner DeChambeau (11 under), with the pair again set to joust it out for a title, this time the 'fifth major'.

"Round two," Westwood laughed after the third round, referencing another battle with DeChambeau.

Doug Ghim and Justin Thomas, who shot a 64 on Saturday, are in equal third at 10 under, with Paul Casey, Jon Rahm and Brian Harman a further shot back.

Westwood is in the box seat, having not dropped a shot since the 10th hole of the first round. He also nailed a 24-foot birdie putt on the island green 17th hole on Saturday.

"Westy is a fierce competitor and I look forward to the challenge, again, with him," DeChambeau said.

"His driving is impeccable, his iron play is impeccable and he makes putts when he needs to. Fortunately for me last week I was able to get the job done and I think tomorrow is going to be an incredible battle."

Last year's U.S. Open winner DeChambeau shot a five-under 67 in the third round to marginally close the gap on Westwood. He shot six birdies but bogeyed the 14th.

Thomas was the big mover of the day with his 64, birdieing the first four holes of the day, including holing a 20-foot putt on the first.

The American hit a 204-yard second shot to within seven inches of the pin to eagle the 16th, surging back into contention after being seven shots off the pace heading into the weekend.

"I wish all rounds were that easy," Thomas said. "I hit the ball beautifully, I drove it well, I hit a couple of squirrelly shots there at the end of the front nine, but the good part is that I knew why they were happening.

"I just know that I have to stay patient out here because you can make a lot of birdies and hitting driver well is helping."

Rory McIlroy admitted chasing Bryson DeChambeau's power cost him after the four-time major champion comfortably missed the cut at The Players Championship as Lee Westwood produced a flawless performance to lead the way.

DeChambeau's power play at last year's U.S. Open has changed golf for many across the PGA and European Tours, with former world number one McIlroy trying to add length to his game.

But defending Players champion McIlroy, without a win since 2019, missed the cut by 10 strokes on Friday – a second-round 75 adding to his opening 79 at TPC Sawgrass.

After another forgettable day, which included a double-bogey, three bogeys and two birdies, McIlroy explained his struggles, telling reporters: "Probably, like October last year, doing a little bit of speed training, started getting sucked into that stuff, swing got flat, long and too rotational.

"Obviously I added some speed and am hitting the ball longer but what that did to my swing as a whole probably wasn't a good thing. So I'm sort of fighting to get back out of that. That’s what I'm frustrated with."

McIlroy added: "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't anything to do with what Bryson did at the US Open. I think a lot of people saw that and were like, 'Whoa, if this is the way they're going to set golf courses up in the future, it helps. It really helps'.

"The one thing that people don't appreciate is how good Bryson is out of the rough. Not only because of how upright he is but because his short irons are longer than standard, so he can get a little more speed through the rough than us, than other guys.

"I thought being able to get some more speed is a good thing and maybe just to the detriment a little bit of my swing, I got there. I just need to maybe rein it back in a little bit."

Westwood had no such trouble during the second round – the Englishman using a six-under-par 66 to earn a one-stroke lead at nine under before darkness suspended play.

After finishing second at last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational, Westwood roared to the top of the leaderboard through 36 holes via a dazzling round, which included six birdies and no bogeys.

It is the third time Westwood has led after two rounds at The Players Championship – in 2005 and 2010 – but he is yet to win.

The 47-year-old is a two-time PGA Tour champion, though his last success came in 2010.

Countryman Matthew Fitzpatrick (68) is a stroke off the pace, one shot ahead of Chris Kirk (65) and Sergio Garcia (72), who led after the opening round.

U.S. Open champion and Arnold Palmer Invitational winner DeChambeau posted a second-round 69 to be tied for fifth at six under.

World number one Dustin Johnson's second round in the 70s catapulted him up 22 positions into a tie for 36th, eight shots behind Westwood, while Jordan Spieth (74) is a stroke further back.

Xander Schauffele (74) was among the stars to miss the cut – the American's Tour-best streak of 23 consecutive made cuts coming to an end.

Lee Westwood roared to the top of the leaderboard at The Players Championship as the in-form Englishman hit a dazzling 66 to reach nine under par.

After a second place last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the 47-year-old gave another indication he could be a contender this weekend as he established the clubhouse lead.

Westwood has won twice on the PGA Tour, at the 1998 Freeport-McDermott Classic and 2010 St Jude Classic, and a third title would be a long time in coming.

His girlfriend Helen Storey is also his caddie, and Westwood spoke of her positive influence, calling it "very important".

"I'm a lot less serious and fairly light-hearted," Westwood said on the Golf Channel. "There's lot of smiling going on out there and in life in general.

"We're both having fun out there and not treating it too seriously. Obviously I try 110 per cent. I do all the work off the course, in the gym and a lot of stretching nowadays.

"But when I go out on the golf course I play carefree golf, just not worrying about the consequences and the outcomes.

"I think we all try and go out there and get into the zone, whatever it may be for all of us.

"The zone for me is to go out there and not really having anything going on - just getting the yardage, picking the clubs, seeing the shot and trying to do as good as I can on it."

A birdie at the last capped a bogey-free round for Westwood.

Rory McIlroy's faint hopes of making the cut were over long before he finished his second round, with the 2019 champion following his opening 79 with a front nine of 37 before a double bogey at the par-four 10th left no doubt he would miss the weekend.

McIlroy had been undone by a quadruple-bogey eight at the 18th hole in his opening round, which was far from the worst score on the course.

A day after hitting four balls into the water and making 11 at the par-three 17th, the famous island hole, South Korean Byeong Hun An found the green from the tee this time and went close to a birdie.

He rolled a 16-foot putt to the edge of the hole and tapped in for par, getting a warm reception as he put Thursday's nightmare behind him. Like McIlroy, however, his hopes of making the cut were already shot.

Sergio Garcia earned a two-stroke lead thanks to a late surge in the opening round of The Players Championship, while defending champion Rory McIlroy endured a nightmare start.

An 18-foot eagle at the final hole propelled Garcia to the round of the day – a seven-under-par 65 – and top spot on Thursday.

Garcia, who won the Players in 2008 and lost a play-off in 2015, gained four strokes from his last three holes in Ponte Vedra Beach, where play was suspended due to darkness.

Masters champion in 2017, Garcia had eagles at the 16th and ninth holes (both par-fives) for his first round at TPC Sawgrass with multiple eagles – his 77th career round.

It is also Garcia's first 65 or better at the venue since 2013, after the Spanish star was almost late for his opening-round tee time.

"I thought I had plenty of time. Obviously I left the range at 7:35, I was teeing off at 7:40 so I figured it's going to take me probably two, three minutes at most to get to 10," Garcia said. 

"I don't know if the clock on the range was behind or something, but when I got to the putting green just like 50 yards short of 10 I kind of looked at it and the sun was coming up so I couldn't see if it was 7:38 or 7:39 but just in case I just took a little stroll, made sure that I got there before it turned to [7:40]."

Brian Harman is five under heading into the second round, a shot clear of Matthew Fitzpatrick, Corey Conners and Shane Lowry at the PGA Tour event, where 21 players will complete their first rounds on Friday morning.

U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who claimed last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational, opened with a first-round 69, highlighted by six birdies.

Former world number one Jordan Spieth, 2018 Masters winner Patrick Reed and Jason Day are among 14 players tied for 12th position at two under, while Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas are a stroke further back.

World number one Dustin Johnson signed for a 73, but McIlroy had a quadruple-bogey eight on his card as the former world number one posted a seven-over-par 79.

Still the defending champion after last year's tournament was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, McIlroy returned and struggled dramatically after two balls found water.

McIlroy recorded 43 on the back nine – his first nine – tying the highest opening nine-hole score of his PGA Tour career (677th round).

Henrik Stenson had an even worse day than McIlroy, with an 85 from Sweden's former Open champion featuring two double bogeys and two triples and three balls in the water.

It marked the highest score of Stenson's Tour career, eclipsing his previous high of 83.

Sergio Garcia will skip the Texas Open in the week preceding The Masters to reduce any COVID-19 risks that could force him out of the Augusta field.

The 2017 Masters winner was forced to miss last year's tournament after testing positive for the coronavirus, breaking his run of competing in 84 consecutive majors.

Now he will take every step necessary to cut out any contact that could see him ruled out of another shot at a second green jacket.

Garcia made his announcement after storming to the top of the leaderboard at The Players Championship on Thursday with a seven-under 65, on a day when Henrik Stenson shot an 85 and Rory McIlroy laboured to a 79.

Asked whether he would be cautious about his schedule leading into Masters week, Garcia said: "I'm not playing the week before

"We have fans back, so you know that at any time you might get it [the virus] from any one of them - not that they're trying to give it to you or anything like that, but it might happen."

The WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play takes place in Austin a week before the Texas Open, and Garcia said he would "have to be careful" there.

"I would love to get closer to the fans, but there's too much at risk at stake for us and if we get COVID because of anything, we're the one that pays. We pay the price," Garcia added.

"No one else does. So we have to be very careful as the fans come back into our game, which is great to have them, don't get me wrong."

The 2020 Masters was moved from its usual April slot to November 12-15 and was played without spectators. They will return in limited numbers this year.

Given the changed circumstances last year, Garcia was not as put out as he might have been by missing a full-blown Augusta extravaganza.

"I'm not too much of a record kind of guy, but it was nice to have that streak going," Garcia said.

"I think I was quite close to catching up with Tom Watson as second most all time. I know my friends always like to keep a record of all those stats. But to be totally honest, if I had to miss any Masters, that probably was the one.

"Obviously playing in November, the Masters is unbelievable, but it didn't have the feel that it has in April, for sure. So now we know there's a good reason why we play it in April and not in November. So that was unfortunate, but it's what it is."

Rory McIlroy had a quadruple-bogey eight on his card as the former world number one endured a shocking start to his title defence at The Players Championship.

The Northern Irishman finished his first round on a seven-over-par 79, with two balls at the bottom of a lake, and facing a huge battle to make the cut.

McIlroy began on the back nine and made an immediate double bogey, but the round got worse when he sent two balls into the giant expanse of water to the left of the fairway at the 18th.

The four-time major winner gave himself a chance from close range to limit the damage to three shots, but McIlroy could not sink the putt.

Having also dropped a shot at the 13th hole - his fourth - it meant McIlroy reached the turn in seven-over-par 43.

He picked up shots at the first and second to get back to five over, but further damage to his scorecard at the next two holes saw the 31-year-old return to seven over.

A third three-putt of the round at that fourth hole summed up McIlroy's misery, and although he soon picked up another shot and began to play steadily, more putting peril at the ninth, his final hole, inflicted yet more damage.

McIlroy was not alone in sending balls into the water.

England's Paul Casey took seven at the 17th, the famous three-par island hole at Sawgrass, after going into the drink both off the tee and from the drop zone.

That outcome saw Casey plunge from two under par to two over, but he steadied himself and finished with a one-over 73.

Henrik Stenson had an even worse day than his fellow European Ryder Cup stars, with an 85 from Sweden's former Open champion featuring two double bogeys and two triples and three balls in the water.

While McIlroy, Casey and Stenson ran into trouble, Sergio Garcia led the way as he secured the clubhouse lead with a sparkling seven-under 65, the Spaniard with a pair of eagles in his round.

This tournament was called off after the first round last year due to the developing COVID-19 crisis, with McIlroy the most recent champion in 2019, when he edged out Jim Furyk by one shot.

Rory McIlroy hopes Tiger Woods can return home next week and revealed the 15-time major winner had given him "heat" from his hospital bed after he failed to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Woods has been recovering at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after he suffered serious injuries to both of his legs in a car crash last month.

The American's car rolled several hundred feet in a single-vehicle accident that he was considered to be very fortunate to survive.

Woods underwent a long surgical procedure on his lower right leg and ankle, but is on the mend and McIlroy says the legendary 45-year-old may be discharged from hospital in the near future.

The former world number one told The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon: "Hopefully we see him back out here on Tour soon.

"I've spoken to him a little bit. He's doing better, and I think all the guys have reached out to him.

"Hopefully, if things go well over the next week or so, he might be able to get home and start his recovery at home, which will be great for him to see his kids, see his family.

"I just think all of us are wishing him a speedy recovery at this point."

McIlroy says Woods had been in touch with him before and after the Northern Irishman missed an opportunity to secure victory at Bay Hill on Sunday, with Bryson DeChambeau crowned champion.

The five-time major champion, who found the water twice at the sixth hole in his final round, said: "He texted me some words of encouragement before the final round at Bay Hill on Sunday, and things didn't quite go to plan.

"But Tiger was the first one to text me afterwards and be like 'What's going on here?' So even from the hospital bed he's still giving me some heat!"

Rory McIlroy insists his best years are yet to come as he prepares to defend his title at The Players Championship.

McIlroy will this weekend attempt to defend the title he won in 2019 for a second time, with last year's tournament having been called off after the first round due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Northern Irishman started the 2020 event with a 72, leaving him nine shots adrift of leader Hideki Matsuyama and facing a battle to hold onto the trophy.

That performance was in stark contrast to his form leading up to last year, when he arrived at TPC Sawgrass as world number one after top-five finishes in each of his first four tournaments of 2020.

McIlroy found it a comparative struggle after golf restarted from its three-month break, and he endured a frustrating weekend at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, following an opening 66 with rounds of 71, 72 and 76 to finish eight shots behind winner Bryson DeChambeau.

Given the 31-year-old has not won any of golf's majors since 2014, it was put to him that the best years of his career could now be behind him, but that is something he disputes.

He told reporters on Tuesday: "I've talked about this before: you have to be an eternal optimist in this game, and I truly believe that my best days are ahead of me, and you have to believe that.

"There's no point in me being out here if I didn't think that. That's just not part of my psyche or anyone's psyche out here. I think that's the difference between people that make it to the elite level and the people that don't, because they don't think that way. I certainly believe that my best days are ahead of me, and I'm working hard to make sure that they are.

"It felt so good on Thursday and then felt off a little bit on the weekend, so it's like, what happened? What changed? What is the difference? I think that's where I've sort of struggled the last few weeks is that inconsistency of the good being very good, good enough to lead the golf tournament, but when it just gets slightly off, not being able to manage it.

"There's inconsistency in my ball-striking from day-to-day. On my approach play on Thursday, I gained nearly three shots on the field, and then Saturday I lost nearly three. It's just the inconsistency. It's not being able to manage the misses as well as I usually do.

"The good golf is in there, and I feel capable of going out and shooting good scores any week that I play on any golf course that I play, but it's the days where you don't feel so good that you need to manage it and get it around in a couple under par. That's the challenge for me right now."

McIlroy accepts he will likely find this weekend's challenge more difficult than two years ago, but he remains confident he can challenge.

"I feel like I can go out there this week and string four good rounds together, but it's maybe just a bit more of a challenge than it maybe felt a couple years ago," he added.

"But that's on me to try to get a little more comfortable and work pretty hard these next couple of days to be ready to go on Thursday and feel like I'm in a bit of a better place with it all."

Four-time major winner Brooks Koepka has withdrawn from The Players Championship due to a knee injury.

Koepka has struggled with injury problems over the last year and a half and the American has suffered another setback a month before The Masters gets under way at Augusta. 

The 30-year-old will not be among the field when The Players Championship gets under way at TPC Sawgrass on Thursday due to a strained right knee.

Blake Smith, Koepka's manager, said: "Brooks strained his right knee and he is scheduled to further consult with doctors this week to receive a more extensive evaluation and outlook.

"We will be able to provide additional updates and information as we learn more."

Koepka is eighth in the FedExCup standings and claimed his eighth PGA Tour title by winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February.

He was tied for second when he last teed off on the PGA Tour at the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession at the end of last month.

Bryson DeChambeau claimed his eighth PGA Tour title after reigning supreme at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

U.S. Open champion and big-hitting American star DeChambeau won by one stroke following his one-under-par 71 in Orlando, Florida on Sunday.

DeChambeau was at his brilliant best as he tamed Bay Hill in a low-scoring final day in windy conditions.

After smacking a 377-yard driver over the lake at the sixth hole, DeChambeau held his nerve to drain a five-foot par for victory ahead of Lee Westwood (73) at 11 under.

"It's been quite a battle this entire time. I don't even know what to say. To win at Mr Palmer's event — it's going to make me cry," a teary DeChambeau said. "It means the world to me."

DeChambeau also singled out 15-time major champion Tiger Woods, who is recovering following a near-fatal single-car crash last week.

Woods holds the record for the most Arnold Palmer Invitational trophies with eight.

"He obviously had done really well here ... we just talked about keep fighting no matter what happened, play boldly like Mr Palmer did," DeChambeau said.

"My heart has been heavy with Tiger and what's been going on with him and I just kept telling myself 'it's now how many times you get kicked down it's about how many times you can pick back up and you keep going'. That's what I surely did out there today."

Canadian golfer Corey Conners finished third at eight under following his final-round 74, two strokes ahead of Andrew Putnam (71), Richy Werenski (73) and former world number one Jordan Spieth (75) – who is searching for his first win since 2017.

Four-time major champion Rory McIlroy ended the tournament in a tie for 10th, eight shots adrift of DeChambeau, after shooting a four-over-par 76.

Tyrrell Hatton – the defending champion – closed out his campaign with a final-round 77 to be 10 strokes behind the winner.

Lee Westwood surged into the lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational ahead of Bryson DeChambeau, who stole the show with a monstrous 370-yard drive on the sixth.

English 47-year-old Westwood shot a seven-under 65 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead at 11 under heading into the final day, sitting ahead of DeChambeau (68) and previous leader Corey Conners (71), who are tied for second.

Keegan Bradley shot a round-best eight-under 64 with his 59th career bogey-free round to move into equal fourth alongside Jordan Spieth (68) at nine under.

Westwood made his move with five birdies on the front nine on Saturday. He also hit an eagle on the 16th and a birdie on the challenging 18th..

"The first time I played here I felt 'this was good'," said Westwood, who has plenty of experience playing at Bay Hill.

"I like the way it makes you shape the ball into some of the fairways. It suits my game. I'm not the longest through the air anymore so it helps when I can use a lot of the fairway."

DeChambeau, who was the Invitational runner-up in 2018, had the crowds roaring on the 590-yard dog leg par-five sixth hole when he ambitiously succeeded in driving to clear the water in a 370-yard carry.

The 2020 U.S. Open champion shot a 68, including six birdies, but his monster drive was all the talk, having teased on social media that he would attempt it in the lead-up.

"I've never had so many people cheering me on to do something pretty cool," the American said.

"To have that opportunity and execute it was pretty special. Hopefully it's something I can do tomorrow again.

"I was definitely nervous. I caught it pretty solid. I didn't know how else to react."

Overnight leader Conners let slip his dominant position but remains in the hunt after two bogeys and three birdies for the round.

Early leader and 2018 Invitational winner Rory McIlroy slipped to equal seventh after an even-par round.

Doug Ghim drew level with McIlroy after an outstanding seven-under 65, with the duo joined at seven under by Jazz Janewattananond (69) and Richy Werenski (69).

Janewattananond made a hole-in-one at the 14th, while Spieth also produced an ace in the third round – his coming at the second.