Arnold Palmer Invitational 2014: Day 2 Leaderboard Analysis, Highlights and More

A day after tying the Bay Hill course record with a 10-under 62, Adam Scott continued his strong play at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, remaining comfortably atop the leaderboard at 14-under par.

From Ron Sirak of Golf World:

While Scott couldn't replicate his record-tying performance, he still managed to shoot an impressive 66 and remain well ahead of the top contenders. He's now tied the course record with a 14-under after 36 holes, matching the mark set by  Tom Watson and Andy Bean in 1981, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN).

J.B. Holmes (-3 on the day), Chesson Hadley (-4), Francesco Molinari (-2) and Keegan Bradley (-5), among others, kept themselves within striking distance of Scott as the tournament heads into the weekend.

But Scott remains in a league of his own.

Here's the leaderboard.

POS	START	PLAYER	TO PAR	TODAY	THRU	R1	R2	TOT
1	1	Adam Scott	-14	-4	F	62	68	130
T2	11	J.B. Holmes	-7	-3	F	68	69	137
T2	17	Chesson Hadley	-7	-4	F	69	68	137
T2	5	Francesco Molinari	-7	-2	F	67	70	137
T5	40	Keegan Bradley	-6	-5	F	71	67	138
T5	5	Jason Kokrak	-6	-1	F	67	71	138
T5	5	Jamie Donaldson	-6	-1	F	67	71	138
T5	5	Brandt Snedeker	-6	-1	F	67	71	138
T5	5	Morgan Hoffmann	-6	-1	F	67	71	138
T10	17	Matt Every	-5	-2	F	69	70	139
T10	40	Freddie Jacobson	-5	-4	F	71	68	139
T10	2	Ryo Ishikawa	-5	+2	F	65	74	139
T10	11	Ian Poulter	-5	-1	F	68	71	139
T10	2	John Merrick	-5	+2	F	65	74	139
T10	11	Charles Howell III	-5	-1	F	68	71	139
T16	26	Padraig Harrington	-4	-2	F	70	70	140
T16	61	Erik Compton	-4	-4	F	72	68	140
T16	26	Aaron Baddeley	-4	-2	F	70	70	140
T16	17	Harris English	-4	-1	F	69	71	140
T16	17	Sam Saunders	-4	-1	F	69	71	140
T16	61	Seung-yul Noh	-4	-4	F	72	68	140
T16	26	Pat Perez	-4	-2	F	70	70	140

With Tiger Woods out of action in a tournament he normally fares quite well in, the golf world was thirsty for a major storyline to follow as the Masters beckon. Scott's early dominance has certainly quenched that thirst.

In fact, just about the only critique you might level at Scott is that he's bogeyed 18 two days in a row. But that's just being nitpicky.

Amazingly, Scott came into this tournament battling influenza on Thursday. No matter. As per James Corrigan of The Telegraph, he found a way to make the illness work to his benefit.

“‘Beware of the sick golfer,' is a really true adage,” he said. “It lowers the expectations, slows you down and almost takes your mind off what’s going on—because you’re not even feeling human.”

Perhaps the band Disturbed were singing about golf when they released "Down with the Sickness." OK, probably not. One way or another, Scott certainly didn't play like your average human on Thursday.

Oh, and in case you needed on more reason to be amazed by Scott's dominance, he hadn't played this tournament for five years before deciding to return this season. 

While Scott was running roughshod over the field, Patrick Field provided the highlight moment of the day. From the PGA Tour on Twitter:

Justin Hicks might take umbrage with Field earning highlight of the day, however. Take a look at this pretty birdie:

And that Scott fellow, well, he couldn't help but worm his way into the highlight reel as well:

It's hard to see anyone catching Scott at this point. His seven-stroke lead is a pretty huge margin heading into the weekend, and he's golfing like a man possessed at this point. In four events thus far this season, his lowest finish is 25th, and he's finished in the top 12 at the other three.

Bradley and company aren't about to go away, but unless Scott suddenly hits a slump, it's hard to imagine him relinquishing this lead. At the moment, it's very, very good to be Adam Scott.