It’s funny how grief can bring out the best in athletes sometimes.
It happened on Thursday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where Morgan Hoffman, four hours after learning his 97-year-old grandmother had passed away, fired a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead at Bay Hill.
His lead is a tenuous one over five of the best players in the game: Brandt Snedeker, Adam Scott, Billy Horschel, Keegan Bradley, and Hunter Mahan.
Buoyed by an eagle 3 on the par-5 No. 6, Hoffmann was 4-under at the turn and never hit a bogey on the day.
The other feel good story of Day 1 was that of Kevin Kisner, who found out Wednesday night he would be replacing Bubba Watson in the field as Watson traveled to a funeral.
Despite having never even been to Bay Hill, much less played it, Kisner shot a 3-under 69 on Thursday.