-8 S Lowry (Ire); -6 W Clark (US); -5 C Conners (Can), C Morikawa (US); -4 R Henley (US), R McIlroy (NI), J Day (Aus)

Selected others: -3 J Thomas (US), K Bradley (US); -1 S Straka (Aut), J Rose (Eng), L Aberg (Swe), S Scheffler (US); +1 R MacIntyre (Sco); +2 A Rai (Eng); +3 M Fitzpatrick (Eng), T Fleetwood (Eng); +4 X Schauffele (US)

Shane Lowry hit a five-under-par 67 to establish a two-shot lead on the second day of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Florida.

Ireland’s Lowry, who is now at eight under overall, had begun Friday two strokes adrift of overnight leader Wyndham Clark.

However, he compiled three birdies on both the front and back nine, with the only blemish on his card arriving at the par-five 16th, where he missed a four-foot putt for par.

His playing partner, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, bogeyed the 18th hole for the second consecutive day but still constructed a solid round of 70, to stay in touch four shots back.

Clark, who won the US Open in 2023, dropped three shots in the final four holes to sit two adrift of Lowry, while his American compatriot Collin Morikawa’s bogey-free 68 leaves him tied for third with Canada’s Corey Conners.

Jason Day capitalised on more benign conditions than Thursday to post the round of the day.

The Australian recorded an eight-under 64 that included an eagle at the 532-yard par-five sixth hole, which represents his lowest ever score in 41 rounds at the tournament.

The expected charge from Scottie Scheffler, who has won this event on two of his three previous visits, did not materialise.

The world number one opened with a birdie but missed three putts from 14 feet to double bogey the par-three second.

While he rolled in three birdies on the back nine, they only compensated for bogeys on the fifth and sixth holes as he signed for a level-par 72 to sit seven shots back.

Further down the leaderboard Austria’s Sepp Straka recovered from 77 in the first round to make the cut with ease with a six-under 66.

England’s Matt Fitzpatrick also recovered from a damaging first-round 78, with a three-under 69 to ensure he will be around for the weekend.