ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Morgan Hoffmann's day began with news that his 97-year-old grandmother had passed away. It ended with his first lead on the PGA Tour.
Hoffmann holed a bunker shot for eagle on the par-5 sixth hole and finished with a 9-iron that touched the hole before stopping inches away for a birdie. That gave him a 6-under 66 and a one-shot lead Thursday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Hoffman says he was in a strange place mentally before saying that his grandmother died. He hopes to get to a memorial service in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday. It's a short trip in his single-engine plane that he pilots. More than a golfer, Hoffmann is a man of many talents.
Kevin Na and John Peterson were among those at 67.
Rory McIlroy made his Bay Hill debut with a 70.