Spencer Levin Leads After 18 at the Arnie Invitational

Spencer Levin has taken the first round lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational after a sparkling 6-under 66 put him three clear of a pair two back.

Levin got around Thursday bogey free even though he hit less than half his fairways and still managed three birdies on each side.

The 26-year old youngster is not really a shot in the dark here and goes off co-favourite with Hunter Mahan, who is three back, at (8-1).  He’s already made over a million dollars this season and has two top-5’s including a 4th place finish at the AT&T National Pro-Am.

Mahan, meanwhile, has easily surpassed a million in earnings having had two top-10’s at both WGC events and a 2nd at the AT&T National.  Furthermore, he has only finished outside the top-30 once this season and had a solid opening round Thursday in Florida shooting 69.

Mahan made his move mid-round making four birdies from hole 4 to 13 and bounced back from a bogey at the 15th by eagling 16.

The round wasn’t perfect, but it’s a solid start for a player of Mahan’s calibre and if he can get a few more putts to drop Friday he could make a significant move in round two.

Phil Mickelson is third on the betting board at (9-1) even though he’s four back and struggled to find any consistency in his opening round.

Lefty hit only 7 of 14 fairways and just 10 of 18 greens and he didn’t show much late in round one making a single birdie on the back nine.

Granted, it hasn’t been a very memorable ride over the past two months for the defending Masters champions as Mickelson hasn’t had a top-10 since early February. 

For most that wouldn’t be news, but for a sure fire Hall of Famer it seems to be what has become a lingering inability to find a groove and it continues a run of less than dominant play that goes back to mid-2010.

From the land of long odds, Rocco Mediate hasn’t been in the spotlight much since he went to an 18 hole playoff for the US Open with Tiger Woods, but he did shoot 2-under on Thursday sitting three back as he heads to Friday at (66-1).

The uglier a man’s legs are, the better he plays golf. It’s almost a law    - HG Wells