Lowry and McIlroy fire each other up as both jump to front of field at Bay Hill

Paired together for the opening two rounds at the $20m Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Irish duo made the most of lighter afternoon conditions 

COMING OUT FIRING: Shane Lowry is in a tie for second at Bay Hill. Pic: AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy once again proved to enjoy one another's company as they fired their way towards the top of the leaderboard on a testing Thursday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. 

Opening day at Bay Hill saw just 14 of the elevated field of 72 going under par. Among that select group were the Irish duo, paired together for the opening two days.