First Look at the The Arnold Palmer Invitational
The players of the PGA Tour will convene at Bay Hill Club and Lodge (Orlando) after being in two locations last weekend, in Bradenton (FLA) for the World Golf Championship and Rio Grande for the Puerto Rico Open.
The 123 player field for the Arnold Palmer Invitational will feature 12 of the Top 25 players in the world.
The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard is one of three tournaments on the PGA Tour schedule with elevated status, along with The Genesis Invitational and the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Elevated events offer a larger purse ($9.3 million), a three-year PGA Tour exemption for the winner, and new in 2021, 550 FedExCup points to the winner.
Tyrrell Hatton, the defending champion, is the top-ranked player in the field at No. 5 in the world golf rankings. Rounding out those in the Top 10 are Rory McIlroy, who has 18 PGA TOUR victories and won the event in 2018, at No. 8 in the world, and 2020 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau at No. 10.
Jordan Spieth, who has been playing better of late, will make his debut at Bay Hill. Spieth has two Top 5 finishes in 2021, a T-3 at Pebble Beach and a T-4 at Waste Management in Phoenix.
International golfers have won the Arnold Palmer Invitational each of the last five years. The last golfer from the U.S.A. to don the “red cardigan” in victory was Matt Every, who won in both 2014 and 2015.
The 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational was the last PGA Tour event to host fans at full capacity through the tournament’s completion. The Coronavirus pandemic forced the 2020 Players Championship (scheduled March 12-15, 2020) to be cancelled after the opening round.
Tournament Tee Times begin on Thursday at an early 7:00am (ET/local) through 1:19pm (ET/local). (link)
Weekend Tee Times are expected to be 7:30am (ET/local) through 2:00pm (ET/local).
Weather for Thursday: Sunny. 0% chance of rain. Temps in the 55-74-degree range with winds N/NW 7-14 mph. The forecast is similar for Friday, partly cloudy with winds ranging from NE->E 6-12 mph.
PGATourBrunch will be serving an early “BRUNCH” and posting at 6am ET Thursday-Friday and 6:30am ET Saturday-Sunday to meet the 7:00am ET tee-off time. (7:30am ET Sat/Sun).
Next Week: The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Field Updates:
None as of posting
THIS WEEK on the PGA TOUR: The ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL
COURSE: Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Florida
ARCHITECTS: Dick Wilson and Joe Lee, with Arnold Palmer influenced update.
YARDS/PAR: 7,466 yards/Par 72
PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $9,300,000/$1,674,000
DEFENDING Champion: Tyrrell Hatton (2020 Leaderboard link)
PAST RESULTS: (link)
PAST CHAMPIONS of Event: (link)
FEDEx CUP Winner Share for points: 550
SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedEXCup @APinv
TV COVERAGE: Thursday, March 4: 2:00pm to 6:00pm (ET) on Golf Channel. Friday, March 5: 2:00pm to 6:00pm ET on Golf Channel. Saturday, March 6: 12:30pm to 2:30pm (ET) on Golf Channel and 2:30pm to 6:00pm (ET) on NBC. Sunday, March 7: 12:30pm to 2:30pm (ET) on Golf Channel and 2:30pm to 6:00pm (ET) on NBC.
STREAMING: PGA Tour Live will offer streaming coverage of Featured Groups on Thursday and Friday from 6:45am to 6:00pm (ET); and on Saturday (8:00am-2:30pm ET) and Sunday (8:00am-2:30pm ET), PGA Tour Live will stream Featured Holes on Saturday (3:00pm to 6:00pm ET) and Sunday from 2:30pm to 6:00pm (ET).
PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: Thursday, March 4 - Friday, March 5 - 12:00pm to 6:00pm (ET); then Saturday, March 6 and Sunday, March 7: (1:00pm to 6:00pm (ET)) on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92) or online on PGATour.com.
TOURNAMENT SITE (link)
Odds & Predictions:
A L👀K at the O👀S and A PREDICTION OR TWO:
2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational odds (via William Hill)
Rory McIlroy 9-1
Bryson DeChambeau 12-1
*Viktor Hovland 12-1
Tyrrell Hatton 16-1
Patrick Reed 20-1
*Sungjae Im 22-1
*Matthew Fitzpatrick 25-1
Jordan Spited 28-1
*Paul Casey 28-1
Hideki Matsuyama 28-1
Louis Oosthuizen 35-1
Jason Day 35-1
Francesco Molinari 35-1
Billy Horschel 40-1
Tommy Fleetwood 40-1
Marc Leishman 40-1
*Sam Burns 45-1
Harris English 45-1
*Will Zalatoris 45-1
*Max Homa 50-1
Jason Kokrak 50-1
Cameron Tringale 60-1
Kevin Na 60-1
Justin Rose 60-1
*Branden Grace 66-1
Rickie Fowler 66-1
Kevin Kisner 70-1
Cameron Davis 70-1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 70-1
Adam Hadwin 80-1
Robert Macintyre 80-1
Victor Perez 80-1
Talor Gooch 90-1
Lanto Griffin 90-1
Shane Lowry 100-1
Maverick McNealy 100-1
Chris Kirk 100-1
J.T. Poston 100-1
Matt Jones 100-1
Matt Wallace 100-1
Henrik Stenson 100-1
Ian Poulter 100-1
Charley Hoffman 100-1
Lee Westwood 100-1
Si-Woo Kim 100-1
* Like ‘em!
TL’s Wedge Edge: For the PGA Tour Fantasy Game, my initial foursome will be Max Homa, Will Zalatoris, Sungjae Im and Matthew Fitzpatrick. Back-ups on the bench in this strong field are: Paul Casey and Sam Burns.
For PGA Tour One and Done? I’m on Matthew Fitzpatrick and his (25-1) odds for a big score.
Quick Look/Key Information:
Last Week’s Final Leaderboard from WGC (link)
Last Week’s Leaderboard from Puerto Rico Open (link)
2020 Arnold Palmer/Bay Hill Results (Tyrrell Hatton was Champion) - (link)
Past Winners and Runners-Up at Bay Hill (link)
What They’re Saying:
Power Rankings for the Arnold Palmer Invitational (PGATourCom)
Why Morikawa Has Been So Successful (CBS Sports HQ)
Horses for the Course (PGATourCom)
#SportsBiz, Sporting Gambling and Golf Industry News
Louis Oosthuizen the First to Use (GolfComGear)
Johnny Golf (For the Win)
CBS Sports Odds and Predictions (CBS Sports HQ)
Expert Picks (PGATourCom)
Sleeper Picks (PGATourCom)
USGA Partnered with Sentry (PR Newswire)
March 3, 1996 - Greg Norman shot a final round (66) to win the Doral Ryder Open for the third time over seven years with a two-shot victory over runners-up Vijay Singh and Michael Bradley. “I feel comfortable here,” said Norman of The Blue Monster at Doral. (Courtesy of Randy Walker), Author of On This Day in Golf History, available via Amazon.com and by clicking HERE
WHILE WE’RE YOUNG!
Be SURE to test drive the weekly Sunday Sports Notes Column, “While We’re Young (Ideas)” by @TerryLyons. Sent once a week for your (late) Saturday night or Early Sunday morning entertainment. You can sample and subscribe HERE
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