Rory McIlroy trails Matt Every by one at Arnold Palmer Invitational

Matt Every continued his impressive form at Bay Hill on Thursday to take a one-shot lead over Rory McIlroy at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The blustery afternoon conditions were proving a challenge, but Every looked as calm as ever at Bay Hill, shooting a bogey-free 65 to sit at the top of the leaderboard at seven-under par.

It was clearly a much easier day for those playing in the morning as McIlroy set the pace with his six-under par round, while certain stars out in the afternoon were struggling in the wind, with Tommy Fleetwood a prime example after his four-over par round.

Talor Gooch and Scottie Scheffler share third place after round one, while a host of players sit three shots back including Graeme McDowell and Tyrrell Hatton.

Every, currently ranked 309th in the world rankings, won the Arnold Palmer Invitational back-to-back in 2014 and 2015 and will be hopeful of a much better performance this week, after he missed the cut at the Honda Classic, shooting 19-over par after two rounds.

Following his opening round of 65 at Bay Hill, Every gave a very honest interview which went down very well on Twitter. Watch it for yourself below.

Matt Every giving us one of the most relatable post-round interviews we’ve heard in a while. pic.twitter.com/SAoxurvZhm

— Skratch (@Skratch) March 5, 2020

McIlroy started his round slowly and found himself one-over par through his first six holes, but bounced back with a 25-foot drain for eagle and five birdies to set the initial clubhouse target.

Englishman Matt Wallace was delighted to be speaking to Sky Sports' Nick Doherty after his first round, where he shot a three-under 69 to leave himself just four off the pace.

Brooks Koepka will be kicking himself, having bogeyed his final two holes to finish with a level par round of 72, while fellow American Phil Mickelson struggled to find any form shooting five-over par.