The second of four straight tournaments in the state of Florida takes place this week when the PGA Tour assembles in Orlando for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. A strong field with a definite international feel to it will attack the Bay Hill Club and Lodge to pay tribute to the tournament’s namesake. Palmer lobbied the PGA Tour to bring an official event to his course back in 1979 and the API has been played annually since then. Tyrrell Hatton posted a one-shot victory last year becoming the fifth straight international player to win. Hatton and the rest of the field are behind Rory McIlroy at the top of the odds board. You can visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of matchup betting odds when you’re ready to place a wager.
Arnold Palmer Invitational Matchup Odds at BookMaker.eu
Sungjae Im -110 vs. Patrick Reed -120
Matthew Fitzpatrick -140 vs. Paul Casey +110
Jason Day +105 vs. Hideki Matsuyama -135
Jordan Spieth -110 vs. Louis Oosthuizen -120
Tommy Fleetwood -110 vs. Francesco Molinari -120
Max Homa -140 vs. Marc Leishman +110
Will Zalatoris -120 vs. Billy Horschel -110
Harris English -115 vs. Jason Kokrak -115
Rickie Fowler -110 vs. Justin Rose -120
Kevin Na -145 vs. Kevin Kisner +115
Cameron Davis -120 vs. Christiaan Bezuidenhout -110
Talor Gooch -150 vs. Branden Grace +120
Adam Hadwin +100 vs. Shane Lowry -130
Andrew Putnam +105 vs. Maverick McNealy -135
Ian Poulter -105 vs. Brendon Todd -125
Corey Conners -155 vs. Matt Wallace +125
Patton Kizzire +110 vs. Zach Johnson -140
Alex Noren +110 vs. Si Woo Kim -140
Wyndham Clark -170 vs. Lee Westwood +140
Sungjae Im -115 vs. Matthew Fitzpatrick -115
Patrick Reed -150 vs. Paul Casey +120
Jason Day -140 vs. Jordan Spieth +110
Louis Oosthuizen +100 vs. Hideki Matsuyama -130
Viktor Hovland -140 vs. Tyrrell Hatton +110
Bryson DeChambeau -135 vs. Tyrrell Hatton +105
Viktor Hovland -110 vs. Bryson DeChambeau -120
Rory McIlroy -170 vs. Tyrrell Hatton +140
Rory McIlroy -115 vs. Viktor Hovland -115
Rory McIlroy -130 vs. Bryson DeChambeau +100
Need to Know
Bay Hill has hosted since 1979 and there have been few changes since that first playing. The adjustments that were made were designed to increase the appeal to amateurs and the public while remaining a challenge to the Tour pros. A recent renovation added close to 50 yards putting the scorecard distance at 7,454 yards. It plays long but is inviting with wide fairways. However, thick rough puts accuracy at a premium and brings into play long irons. The par 4s don’t typically yield a lot of birdies so making up strokes will be done on the four par 5s that average 557 yards. Being in Florida there is plenty of water and wind always seems to be a factor. It did last year when Hatton, Marc Leishman, Sungjae Im and Bryson DeChambeau were the only players to finish with a below par score.
Arnold Palmer Invitational Matchup Picks
Marc Leishman +110 vs. Max Homa
Speaking of Leishman, last year’s runner-up continued his string of success at Bay Hill making him a solid play at plus odds in this matchup. Along with his solo second Leishman has a win (2017) and an additional top-10 in his last four starts. Toss in a T3 back in 2011 and few players have enjoyed Arnie’s layout more. Recent form is solid, too, with a T4 in Hawai’i among his two top-20s over his previous four starts.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout -110 vs. Cameron Davis
Since there is an international theme at this event why not back a recent winner on the European Tour. Bezuidenhout won back-to-back in his native South Africa at the end of last season as part of five top-25s in his last eight ET starts. He played the weekend in his last two major championship starts and was T32 at last week’s WGC. With a Euro feel to the field you can expect Bezuidenhout to stand out.
Jordan Spieth +110 vs. Jason Day
Can we start trusting Spieth again? Things are trending up for him with three straight top-15s, and the Bay Hill layout should assist his drives. He is making his tournament debut and water is never something a player that hits errant tee balls wants to see. But Spieth is loaded with confidence after top-5s in Phoenix and Pebble Beach. A Saturday stumble cost him at the Genesis, but he still claimed a T15, which is impressive on its own.
Viktor Hovland -110 vs. Bryson DeChambeau
No one on Tour is playing better than Hovland right now so I’m going to ride him as long as possible. A T2 at The Concession was his third straight top-5 and fourth in five starts that included a win at the Mayakoba in December. Admittedly not a fan of Florida golf, Hovland dispatched that notion last week. He’ll have to do the same at Bay Hill after finishing outside the top-35 in his last two visits. He certainly isn’t the same player, though.
Matthew Fitzpatrick -115 vs. Sungjae Im
This is an interesting matchup between golfers who have done well at Bay Hill in the past. I’m leaning toward Fitzpatrick, though, based on his recent play. He won in Dubai on the Euro Tour in December and grabbed another top-20 before heading to the PGA Tour where he collected a T5 at the Genesis and a T11 at last week’s WGC. He was runner-up here in 2019 and placed ninth last year, so it’s hard to argue against him.
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