Darren Clarke's early season form seems to be going from bad to worse after he followed his opening round 74 with a 78 in yesterday's second round of the Bay Hill Invitational in Orlando, Florida.

It left him on eight over par, alongside the tournament's patron, Arnold Palmer.

Clarke wasn't the only big name to find Palmer's course too difficult. Mark O'Meara also missed the cut with rounds of 74 and 76, while Sweden's Gabriel Hjertstedt, who has been having an outstanding season the US Tour, followed a promising one-under 71 with a 77.

Davis Love earned a share of the lead, but all anyone wanted to talk about was the water valve he broke next to the 17th green.

Love, after hitting from a buried lie in a greenside bunker, angrily smashed his club down on a sprinkler head.

However, he accidentally broke the valve and the next thing he knew water was spurting from the cracked pipe and flooding the bunker.

An embarrassed Love nonetheless sank his 40-footer for par, then birdied the last to shoot a six-under-par 66.

He joined fellow American Tim Herron (69) at nine-under 135, one stroke ahead of Andrew Magee (67), while Tom Lehman (68), on the comeback trail after shoulder surgery, was two shots behind.

Tiger Woods made the cut without a shot to spare at two-over 146 after battling his swing to shoot 72.

But Love was the centre of attention after the sprinkler incident, for which he expects to be fined by the PGA Tour.

"I've hit a lot of sprinkler heads in my day and usually you do more damage to the back of your club than anything else," he said.

"It didn't take much to break it. Suffice to say I am embarrassed. I have done a lot of things that I'm not proud of and so has everybody else out here. They are not going to let me get away with it. It's very fineable."

As for his golf, Love compiled five birdies and an eagle, along with a lone bogey.

"I hit a lot of fairways, a lot of good putts," he said. "I missed a few birdie putts, made a few longer ones, so all in all it was a good solid day."

Love started his bogey-free round with a par and sank a 20-foot birdie at the second. The highlight of his day came on the fourth hole, a 530-yard par-five. He used a driver and a three-wood to set up a four-foot eagle putt.

He birdied the next par-five, the sixth, with a 20-footer. Love two-putted for birdie on the ensuing two par-fives, 12 and 16, before his eventful 17th hole.

"Hopefully, Arnold (Palmer) will send me the bill," Love said.

First-round leader Herron wasn't quite at the top of his game, but he managed three birdies in a bogey-free round to stay in the hunt for his third PGA Tour victory.

"This is what it is all about," he said of leading. "It is a nice living if you play well, but this is the most fun, being in contention and getting the juices flowing."

Woods, meanwhile, came to the last hole thinking he needed birdie to make the cut, but he had to settle for a par. He cleaned out his locker before being told that he had survived for the weekend.

Lee Westwood is just four shots adrift after he followed up his opening round 71 with a four-under-par 68 to enter the clubhouse on five-under 139.

Colin Montgomerie is also bang in contention after he carded a 69 to be just one stroke further back.