Bay Hill (US), Mar 9 (PTI) Indian-American golfer Sahith Theegala dropped a costly double bogey after going into the lake on the back nine to drop to T-10 after the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational here.

Theegala was three shots off the six-man lead group at 7-under.

The lead group included Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama, who relied on a trusty putter on way to a 2-under 70 and a six-way tie for the second round lead in the USD 20 million Signature Event.

Matsuyama will enter the weekend on 7-under, tied with fellow major champions Shane Lowry (71), Brian Harman (68), Scottie Scheffler (67) and Wyndham Clark (66) and Russell Henley (69). Matsuyama, the nine-time PGA TOUR winner credited a steady putter as he stayed in title contention for back-to-back tournament victories following a rousing triumph at the Genesis Invitational three weeks later.

Theegala birdied the seventh and the 10th but a double on the 11th and another bogey on the 15th cost him. A birdie on 16th and two pars meant an average round of 72.

Korea’s Byeong Hun An fired a 69 for tied 10th position, three off the pace, while compatriot Sungjae Im and Chinese Taipei’s CT Pan returned matching 70s to lie a further stroke back on 3-under.

Matsuyama, 32, struggled with this driver as he hit only six fairways and found 10 greens in regulation but his flat stick worked wonders as he made five birdies to be ranked fourth in Strokes Gained.

After winning the Genesis Invitational, which is hosted by Tiger Woods last month with a closing 62 to add to his success at the Jack Nicklaus-hosted Memorial Tournament in 2014, Matsuyama is determined to include the Arnold Palmer Invitational to his growing collection of silverware.

World no. 1 Scheffler, who has not won a tournament since last year’s THE PLAYERS Championship, charged into the joint lead with a strong finish with 5-under over his closing seven holes, which included an eagle on the par-5 13th hole.

Source: PTI News