Birdie off the rocks at Bay Hill’s treacherous 18th hole? No problem for Si Woo Kim

ORLANDO — Making birdie on the vaunted par-4 18th hole at Bay Hill Club is always going to make a player feel like he gained a stroke on the field. In that regard, Si Woo Kim has to feel like he stole at least a few shots to complete his opening round on Thursday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

A four-time winner on the PGA Tour, Kim birdied the 458-yard home hole in the most unconventional, if not unlikely fashion, when he chipped in from 77 feet to complete a two-under-par 70 that placed him near the top of the leaderboard.

“I’m glad I could end my round on a good note,” he said.

It was a glorious note, in fact.

With the hole playing downwind, Kim found the left portion of the fairway with a drive of 294 yards—an ideal spot for his approach to a pin located in the middle of the shallow, boomerang-shaped green. But from 166 yards, he didn’t quite carry the penalty area that guards the putting surface, but his ball found the rocks between water and land. It could have pinballed anywhere from there, but to his good fortune, it bounded dead right, caroming off a camera stand and burrowing into the thick rough.

Kim was able to take relief from the temporary immovable obstruction, but his lie did not improve appreciably. But it was slightly better. He read the left-to-right pitch shot perfectly. Easy three.

“I was fortunate to have the wind help carry my tee shot further than I initially expected. I also got lucky with the break on my second shot having my ball stay in play and that luck continued with my chip in.”

Luck or not, that’s the kind of break to keep in mind if Kim should go on to contend for the $4 million first prize.