This years field is as weak as this tournaments seen in years. PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, and the Swinging Golfer design are registered trademarks. So, course management and accepting par as a great score at times will be key. Sam Burns, Arnold Palmer Invitational, Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports. It was the last time Honda will host the tournament at PGA National. PGA Tour Power Rankings: Cameron rises, Rory surges and LIV players exit 220d Mark Schlabach A battle for No. Copyright 2023 PGA TOUR, Inc. All rights reserved. On the heels of last weeks Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, the tour takes its talents to Orlandos Bay Hill Club & Lodge for the Arnold Palmer Invitational that begins on Thursday and wraps up on Sunday. RECORDS: A player's won-lost-tied record, based on head-to-head competition, in each category. This will be even more pronounced in tomorrow's slate, with winds looking to be brutal as the day progresses. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. Power Rankings: Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard He was playing incredibly consistent golf before that, and his history at Arnold Palmer is very strong with a pair of 3rd place finishes and nothing worse than 21st in 4 tries. Of the 23 Player Impact Program winners, the only not to commit is Tiger Woods. Previous rank: 21 Scheffler, who entered the week ranked No. "I think when guys are playing as well as Nick [Taylor] was today, it really did put a lot of pressure on me and I responded very well," Scheffler said. PGATOUR.coms Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Ranks 2nd in SG: APP and 4th in GIRs Gained. If you are looking to back our Arnold Palmer Invitational predictions, be sure to do so at DraftKings Sportsbook. You could certainly argue that over the past few weeks, Spain's Jon Rahm was performing like the best player in the world. After opening with a 70 in Phoenix, he caught fire over the final 54 holes to tie for sixth. TifEagle bermuda greens are larger than average in size (and not overseeded), but theyre equipped to flirt with and exceed 13 feet on the Stimpmeter. * - Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COMs Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday. Previous rank: 8 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. 1 in the world after tying for 10th at TPC Scottsdale, his fourth top-15 in as many PGA Tour starts in 2022. Bay Hill plays as a 7,400-yard par 72 featuring Bermuda greens and much thicker rough than weve seen all year and usually see around Florida. Kokrak won the Houston Open in November, his third victory in 13 months. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. Your guess is as good as anyones about when Collin putts well, but when he does, hes generally always in the Top 5. Hovland was one of the best iron players on tour last season; he was first in approach shots from 200 to 225 yards, second from 125 to 150, and third from 175 to 200. Were now onto a multi-week jaunt through Florida starting with the Honda Classic. 11. The highest-ranked golfer is Louis Oosthuizen at 13th in the world. Unlike the last two tournaments that exceeded the allotted reservation to make room for all automatically eligible PGA TOUR members both were designated events the cap of 144 at PGA National is the field size as advertised. PGA Championship Player Power Rankings: In-form players at Kiawah He tied for fifth at 7-under at Riviera last year. 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. Rory McIlroy Won at Bay Hill in 2016 and has finished decently in all three tries since. The former Pepperdine star did everything he could in trying to become only the sixth player in the last 15 seasons to win a tournament with a sponsor exemption. NHL trade grades: Latest deals Tiger Woods, who is not in the field this year, has won Arnold Palmers event a whopping eight times. Only 10 players broke par for 72 holes. Also recorded a T11 at Pebble Beach four weeks ago. pic.twitter.com/RQMtrMLJ8D. Missed fairways will be inevitable, so playing out of the thick rough with short irons instead of long irons is a big advantage. Will likely be excited to get back on Bermuda. Stream on ESPN+. Morikawa showed a lot of backbone by finishing third at the Farmers Insurance Open, his first start after blowing a 6-shot lead in the final round of the Tournament of Champions. How Arnold Palmers Bay Hill Club & Lodge will present itself, what Mother Nature has planned and more can be found below. Wind is often a factor at this event and seven water hazards eat up a lot of wayward shots. After his runner-up finish at the WM Phoenix Open, Cantlay has finished inside the top five in 21 of his past 24 rounds played. Detroit Golf Club is a shorter par-72, measuring 7,370 yards and is one of the easiest courses on the circuit. "These are the days that we were dreaming about." 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. Previous rank: 2 15. Arnold Palmer Invitational Odds, Predictions, Power Rankings & Favorites His best finish in three starts this year was a tie for 13th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The qualifications for this exclusive event are pretty simple: win a tournament during the 2021 calendar year, stretching across two seasons (January to December). Normally, the winning score is in the low to mid-teens with anything in double digits a great week. Ranks 19th in the model. Previous rank: 9 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. Previous rank: 12 Ranks 2nd in SG: P and 16th in the model. Billy Horschel PGATOUR.coms Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Kim, from South Korea, is tough to beat when his putter gets hot. PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, and the Swinging Golfer design are registered trademarks. Unlike last week, none of the top-10 golfers in the world are in attendance this week; only 12 of the top-50 in the world are making their way to PGA National for The Honda Classic. Follow your favorite players throughout the 2023 season. Scottie Scheffler : The World No. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. Schauffele made too many mistakes down the stretch to end a three-year drought without a victory on tour. Daniel Berger Jordan Spieth Bay Hill already is one of if not the hardest par 72 in a non-major in every season last years scoring average of 73.886 easily set the mark among its peers but consider that, in relatively docile conditions a year ago, the opening-round scoring average still was 72.292! PGA Tour Power Rankings: Is Jon Rahm ready to return to the top? How Arnold Palmers Bay Hill Club & Lodge will present itself, what Mother Nature has planned and more can be found below. Hes never played the Arnold Palmer, but Cantlay has strong results in Florida and enjoys tough conditions. Factors at play on the rankings are (in no order): Using the guidelines above to create a statistical model, value can be found in the betting market by highlighting players whose outlook for the tournament may be flying under the radar to the general public. 1 Rory McIlroy leads a WM Phoenix Open field that features 22 of the world's top 25 golfers. 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. Just a friendly reminder that these aren't necessarily the 25 most talented players in the . How much "louder" will LIV Golf get in its second 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. 1 player catch lightning in a bottle at Pebble Beach, where he picked up his first PGA Tour victory in four years, or was it the start of a real resurgence? Rickie Fowler. Im taking a small look at SG: Tee-to-Green in very high winds to get a grasp on who will be able to navigate Bay Hill in the worst of conditions this week. Scheffler had a round of 9-under 62 in the second round in Phoenix, which was his fifth career round of 62 or lower. 10. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. Even casual golf fans and golf bettors are familiar with other participants such as Xander Schauffele, Will Zalatoris, Max Homa, Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa. Spieth followed up his near-miss at Pebble Beach with a rather ordinary start at TPC Scottsdale, a tie for 60th at even par. Hell bank 300 FedExCup points and $684,000 of a record prize fund of $3.8 million. 18. 13. Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy entered the year ranked No. But this trip to Florida will be an interesting challenge for him, as just two of his 22 Top 10s have come here. 2023 Honda Classic picks, odds, Fantasy golf power rankings: PGA Tour 15. Get exclusive access to more than 3,000 premium articles a year from top writers. The cash and the stakes arent as high as they were in recent weeks in Scottsdale and Los Angeles, but the Honda Classic is still a worthwhile watch. Previous rank: 18 The Irishman has it going again with a 14th Riviera and 5th at Honda with more excellent ball striking. He has two top-15 finishes in his past three starts, including a tie for 14th in Phoenix. He was unable to earn his card through Korn Ferry Tour Finals last year, but he can redeem himself by going low at PGA National. PGA Tour Power Rankings: 2016 Honda Classic 1. 22. He is scheduled to play at Riviera. That makes Proximity: 200+ Yards a key statistic this week since we seen many courses go by where players barely hit a long iron outside of Par 5s. You may call them opposite events, but to the 120 in pursuit of a boatload of benefits, Puerto Rico is the island of opportunity. After winning for the first time in four years at the Zozo Championship in October, he has piled up three other top-25s at the CJ Cup at South Carolina, Farmers Insurance Open (runner-up) and Phoenix Open. Any tournament can be won with elite iron play, but with higher scores and the importance on driving it well here, you can get away with just a decent week with the irons. The Norwegian went into Phoenix as one of the hottest golfers on the planet, having won in three of his past five starts on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. The Australian took the week off after tying for 28th in last week's Saudi International. 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 2022 Genesis Invitational Power Rankings - Pro Golf Weekly Power Rankings: PGA Championship - PGATour The PGA Tour had a golf tournament this past weekend, and Sungjae Im didn't participate. 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. In years past, I may have skewed driving stats toward Driving Distance on the week, but Ill simply be using SG: Off the Tee. The Australian is still searching for his first PGA Tour victory since the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship, but there are plenty signs of hope. 1. Rahm is followed by Rory McIlroy (+900), Scottie Scheffler (+1000) and a large group at +2000 that is headlined by Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa. 17. An opening-round 73 left him out of the mix in Phoenix, but he's still playing as well as anyone in the world. Because it can stretch to 7,466 yards and winds often punish, muscle almost always has contributed to the profile of the champion. Collin Morikawa The weather forecast for the week appears to be warm, dry, and windy, so expect the course to play fiery once again. Previous rank: 15 What I value as much as anything with approaches this week is long iron play. Trusting that greens will be adjusted accordingly, its a plan that likely will extend into Saturdays third round for which the elements will mimic the opener, albeit with a slight risk of inclement weather. When it does, it could make a difference of 10-15 degrees cooler. It's probably only a matter of time before Burns starts heating up again, after a relatively quiet start to 2023. This week, the tour heads to the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, for the unofficial "fifth major," which now has a $20 . The PGA Tour's 2021-22 season started way back in September but it kicks into high gear this week with the annual Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua's Plantation course.. 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational: Top 10 Power Rankings at Bay Hill It guarantees that someone else will be holding the trophy. Will Zalatoris 1. PGA Tour Power Rankings this Week - February 22-28, 2016 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. Sahith Theegala Ranks 3rd in Proximity: 200+ Yards and 5th in the model. 14. 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. 19. Copyright 2023 PGA TOUR, Inc. All rights reserved. 7. Jon Rahm Bradley's renewed commitment to fitness and conditioning has paid off in a big way.