The wind proves its point at Bay Hill

Want to know when it’s windy in Florida? Not talking hurricane, just a really good windy day? Those of us who live here don’t need a wind gauge or a weather app – we can just listen to the palm trees rattling.  I live two and half miles from Bay Hill Club & Lodge as the crow flies, and my trees reached a crescendo early Thursday morning as gusts climbed toward 40 mph. I spent the evening picking up palm fronds.

It showed on the leaderboard at the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, where the opening-round scoring average was 74.6. Wyndham Clark led with a 5-under 67, the second highest leading score after an opening round on the PGA Tour this season. Denny McCarthy led the Genesis at Torrey Pines after opening with a wintry 4-under 68, and the scoring average that day on Torrey’s South Course after a winter storm pounded the California coast the night before was 74.4, lower than at Bay Hill.

It all proves again that wind is the great equalizer. As golf’s distance debate still rages, with players weighing in on a ball rollback Thursday at Bay Hill, it’s as true as ever that the cream rises to the top when strong breezes and unpredictable gusts shine a spotlight on ballstriking and emphasize hitting greens in regulation – Clark led the field Thursday by hitting 86 percent of the greens at Bay Hill.

On a course such as Bay Hill, with water or white stakes and sometimes both in play on nearly every hole, it’s the wind that defends par. Things have calmed down Friday and Saturday’s forecast is for a perfect spring day, but the breezes are forecast to return a bit Sunday. As is so often the case at Bay Hill – one of the toughest courses on Tour each year – the winner will be as adept at avoiding wind-blown bogeys or worse as he will be at making birdies. Check out the Puttview yardage book below to see all the challenges the pros face this week.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: The wind proves its point at Bay Hill