Since tying for second at the Shriners Children's Open in early October, he tied for 16th at the Tournament of Champions, tied for 26th at the American Express and missed the cut in Phoenix, where he lost in a playoff to Scheffler last season. He posted another top-10 on Sunday, a tie for eighth, after overcoming a shaky driver in the first two rounds with a combined 11 fairways hit. Ignoring guys who hit it straighter off the tee with average distance would discredit a group of guys who seem just as likely to win around Bay Hill. They're the 25 who have played the best this season and have the best form right now. A string of solid performances at the Corales Puntacana that read 14th (2020), 22nd (2021) and runner-up last year, and a top-12 (2021) at the Bermuda Championship are signs that Smalley has a liking to these tropical locations. Itd be dumb to ignore him at a course that requires elite driving, and he gained 4.6 OTT here in a 13th last year. Rahm will surely be targeted by plenty of golf pundits in their Arnold Palmer Invitational predictions. As of Tuesday, five commits are currently exempt into THE PLAYERS, so the PRO also is an opportunity for Nate Lashley, Max McGreevy, Scott Piercy, Austin Smotherman and Nick Watney to sharpen their tools for the PGA TOURs flagship event. Thats enough of an intro. Previous rank: 16 Lees teed it up twice in 2023, both on the DP World Tours Middle-East swing. Xander Schauffele His PGA TOUR Horse for the Course for daily fantasy golf based on course history. Ranks 6th in SG: OTT and 26th in SG: APP. Both of his top 25s on the PGA TOUR have occurred in his transplanted hometown event, and both are top-15 finishes. A year ago, Kim was preparing for the Royal's Cup in Thailand on the Asian Tour. He's as hot as they come entering the Honda Classic, having won in Abu Dhabi a month ago (for a European Tour event) then finishing as the runner-up in Phoenix earlier this month. How much "louder" will LIV Golf get in its second season? The first designated event of the PGA Tour season means a $20 million purse, and world No. One of those was at Bay Hill in 2021, and hes been solid here in three starts. Shortest in odds and claiming top honor is Sungjae Im. Finally, the forecast for this week is predicting very high winds on Friday and Saturday along with consistent winds for the rest of the week. The goal will be to hit shorter irons into challenging targets with invisible forces poised to smack even properly executed strikes out of the sky. McIlroy (2018) is another former champion of the tournament. Harry Hall Until he showcases his talent outside of Las Vegas, hell remain typecast as a no-brainer to give it a proper run at the Shriners. PGA Tour Power Rankings: Cameron rises, Rory surges and LIV players exit 220d Mark Schlabach A battle for No. The Spaniard finished in third place in Phoenix, 5 shots back, but was in contention once again. Copyright 2023 PGA TOUR, Inc. All rights reserved. This years field is as weak as this tournaments seen in years. After pulling out of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (he was the defending champion) because of a back injury, Berger missed the cut at TPC Scottsdale. Cantlay ranks 127th on tour in shots gained: approach (-.117). . Like most Florida courses, its often windy. Access 4,300-plus hours of live coverage from 35 PGA Tour tournaments each year, including four days of coverage at 28 events with four feeds each day. FREE Picks Contest For the Arnold Palmer Invitational: Win An Amazon Gift Card Instantly! The former Wake Forest University star has gained strokes on the greens in all four of his starts in 2023, which is an encouraging trend for a player who had previously struggled with that part of his game. So, course management and accepting par as a great score at times will be key. That elevated status brings a purse of $20 million. He would have become only the fifth player to win it three times, joining Phil Mickelson, Mark Calcavecchia, Gene Littler and Arnold Palmer. The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass has continued to grow in importance and popularity every year, and its safe to say you can throw it in as the unofficial fifth major of the season. It's the first time the tour has had three consecutive first-time winners since 2019. PGA TOUR Rob Bolton's fantasy golf preview for the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational ROB BOLTON'S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.com's Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives.. Rahm has been especially hot as of late, which is why he tops the official world golf rankings. Previous rank: 3 Szokol opens with 64, up 3 shots in Singapore, More PGA Tour changes: No cuts, smaller fields, Rahm sought Tiger's advice on staying No. He joins Luke List (Farmers Insurance Open) and Tom Hoge (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am) as new champions. Still, given his track record at Bay Hill and doses of phenomenal form a fortnight ago at Riviera, youll excuse any competitor for not missing him on the leaderboard this week. Seamus Power: irl 2.579 . Thats where 2022 PRO champion Ryan Brehm is competing this week. All of them are reachable for longer players and allow eagle chances throughout the round. Detroit Golf Club is a shorter par-72, measuring 7,370 yards and is one of the easiest courses on the circuit. In addition to the aforementioned rewards, clutching the silver trophy and slipping on the iconic red sweater, the winner will be exempt into THE PLAYERS Championship through 2025 and his PGA TOUR membership will be extended through at least 2026. 15 in the second round, which knocked him out for the weekend. Payne Stewart in 1987 was the only player to go 20-under when he won by three. The highest-ranked golfer is Louis Oosthuizen at 13th in the world. Call 1-800-GAMBLER if you have a gambling problem. Rose likes his new equipment, caddie and coach and is comfortable with the team around him again. FREE Picks Contest For the Arnold Palmer Invitational: Win An Amazon Gift Card Instantly! The driver has been very consistent lately, so hell just need a colder than usual putter to get rolling. 21. Numerous changes have been made to PGA National in the last 12 months, but most of the impactful modifications involved bunkering on seven holes. After the Florida Swing got underway last week at the Honda Classic, the stakes raise with this weeks Arnold Palmer Invitational. 17 took a bad bounce and went into the water, resulting in a bogey. Its, ahem, treated to one of the hardest par 70s on the PGA TOUR. Only 10 players broke par for 72 holes. 1 in the world after tying for 10th at TPC Scottsdale, his fourth top-15 in as many PGA Tour starts in 2022. 10. The Spanish player is about to begin his 38th week ranked No. Kim, from South Korea, is tough to beat when his putter gets hot. The Florida swing on the PGA Tour begins this week at the 2023 Honda Classic as players aim to kickstart their seasons in the Sunshine State. Won at Bay Hill in 2016 and has finished decently in all three tries since. Previous rank: 21 Now, he has already won twice on the PGA Tour and is one of the more popular players. All four Par 3s, all four Par 5s and a few Par 4s will likely require a long iron this week at Bay Hill. looped in on merit, so even its reorder at the conclusion of the West Coast Swing had no impact. Because it can stretch to 7,466 yards and winds often punish, muscle almost always has contributed to the profile of the champion. Daniel Berger He ranks in the top 15 on tour in strokes gained: total, tee to green and approach. Justin Thomas : Was gaining momentum going into Riviera after a huge final round in Phoenix vaulted him to 4th, but he lost all of that with one of his worst iron performances. Ranks 1st in SG: Par 5, 2nd in SG: APP and 2nd in the model. The 24-year-old has two-career DP World Tour wins at the 2020 ISPS Handa Vic Open and the 2021 abrdn Scottish Open. Sahith Theegala PGA Tour Power Rankings: Is Jon Rahm ready to return to the top? Ranking Four World Championship Tournaments. It was during the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am three weeks ago when the expectation surfaced that top 10s at Pebble wouldnt pay forward for entry into the WM Phoenix Open. Missed fairways will be inevitable, so playing out of the thick rough with short irons instead of long irons is a big advantage. Sure, its been 10 years since Woods last won at Bay Hill, but he collected eight victories here across 14 editions, including the last two of three consecutive when the course routed as a par 70 through 2009. Previous rank: Not ranked Day had just two top-10s and five top-25s in 19 starts last season. The Los Angeles native hasn't finished better than 26th in two starts at the Genesis Invitational. Expected high winds and firm conditions this week will also open things up a bit to accurate drivers. It is time for the first opportunity event of the season. The product of Arizona State University has already won three times this season, including two weeks ago at Riviera, and he has not finished outside the top 10 in any of his seven starts. Stream on ESPN+. NOTE: ShotLink is not utilized for this tournament. SUNDAY: Payouts and Points, Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle. Maybe Bay Hill can sort him out, where he finished 2nd last year and struck it well in four starts. The greens can run fast if conditions allow. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. Viktor Hovland Harold Varner III 4 @WMPhoenixOpen. He is skipping the Genesis Invitational after missing the cut in his last two starts at Riviera. The greens tend to not be too difficult to roll putts in on, especially for guys based in the Southeast U.S. used to Bermuda. NHL trade grades: Latest deals Jon Rahm is a +650 favorite to triumph at Bay Hill. 11. HOLE-IN-ONE for @RickieFowler from 216 yards! Finished 9th here in 2020. Spieth followed up his near-miss at Pebble Beach with a rather ordinary start at TPC Scottsdale, a tie for 60th at even par. When asked about being ranked No. Ranks 4th in SG: APP and 7th in Proximity: 200+ Yards. In addition to fully exempt status in the winners category through 2025, the champion will earn exemptions into THE PLAYERS Championship next week, the PGA Championship in May and the Sentry Tournament of Champions in 2024. Kevin Yu and Joseph Bramlett both finished T7 at Pebble and didnt get into the WM as predicted, but only Bramlett is committed to the Honda (as of Monday). The 15th edition of the Puerto Rico Open is slated to be contested concurrently with the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard for the second straight year. Those rarities occurred in the third round (69.85) in 2014 and the second round (69.61) in 2017. TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Puerto Rico), Sleepers (API), SUNDAY: Payouts and Points (API), Payouts and Points (Puerto Rico), Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle. Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy entered the year ranked No. I feel like I'm way better than that and I've been working harder to try to do that.". He was just four off the winning pace on a crowded, talented leaderboard. There are designated events, and then there is the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Previous rank: 20 Those only resulted in an 11th, 10th and 20th thanks to other areas failing him, but this is a course he has plenty of experience on and has finished 3rd in the past. The goal will be to hit shorter irons into challenging targets with invisible forces poised to smack even properly executed strikes out of the sky. Here is the list of favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook: If you or a loved one has questions or needs to talk to a professional about gambling, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit 1800gambler.net for more information. That means a $10 bet returns $65 of profit if the red-hot Spaniard does in fact win the tournament. PGA Tour Power Rankings: Arnold Palmer Invitational Written by Tyler Duke Last Updated Feb 28, 2023 Each week in our golf power rankings, we will highlight the top players on the PGA TOUR in order of likeliness to win the tournament. 5. You neednt consider further than the household names among first-time winners such at Tony Finau (2016) and Viktor Hovland (2020) to understand the springboard effect that the Puerto Rico Open can have. Last week at PGA National gave us a fun week considering the lack of star power in the field. Sam Burns, Arnold Palmer Invitational, Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports. Hes found success on the Australasian Tour, Asian Tour, DP World Tour, etc. After a slow start to the season, the former Florida star is beginning to heat up. It started to come together at TPC Scottsdale. Rickie Fowler : You cant look past Fowlers recent iron play, as the former top 5 player has gained more than 15 strokes on approach in his last three starts. Now 291st in the OWGR, the 29-year-old is seeking to rekindle the form that he flashed here last year. Like the TV newscaster in the classic movie "Network," Hahn is mad as hell except he's mad as hell about the changes coming to the PGA Tour in 2024. Collin Morikawa : Morikawa grades out exceptionally in every category this week except putting, and that will be the obvious spot that determines his finish this week. Scheffler will defend his title as The No. 13. If you want more Arnold Palmer Invitational predictions at even longer odds, our experts suggest looking at Jason Day (+3000), Billy Horschel (+10000) and Tom Hoge (+12500). 2. He has made only two starts on tour this year, finishing 38th in the Tournament of Champions and tied for 17th in the Sony Open. Dustin Johnson Sam Burns Keegan Bradley : I always think of Bradley when I hear about potentially brutal conditions on a course. Scottie Scheffler became the third straight first-time winner on tour, beating Patrick Cantlay in a sudden-death playoff with a 26-foot putt Sunday at TPC Scottsdale. According to Justin Ray of Twenty First Group, that's the best of any tour player during that span. Your guess is as good as anyones about when Collin putts well, but when he does, hes generally always in the Top 5. HV3 is probably still celebrating his big victory in Saudi Arabia, even after missing the cut in Phoenix. Just like his new world ranking, the Spaniard cant seem to do anything wrong currently, and hell be looking for his 4th win of the year this week. The Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hillbrings out many of the best players in the world due to its rich history and the new elevated status it holds on the PGA Tour. The Englishman has played very well in his first two starts in 2022, tying for sixth at Pebble Beach and tying for 10th at TPC Scottsdale. Michael Collins is back for an all-new season of America's Caddie.