Like most courses they visit in the Sunshine State, it will present plenty of water hazards throughout, including the famous par-5 sixth hole that features a bold drive over however much water the player thinks he can cut off. Ranks 10th in the model and 11th in SG: APP. 7. The West Coast Swing, and for that matter the fortnight that was the Aloha Swing, fulfilled an alternate version of their nicknames. 9. 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. Daytime temperatures will eclipse 80 degrees and the threat for rain is relegated to a passing shower at worst. He was just four off the winning pace on a crowded, talented . The PGA Tour will head north to the east coast of Florida for the PGA Tours biggest event and the largest prize pool for a standard tournament all year. 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. He won here in 2020, finished 2nd last year, and added a 4th as a debutant in 2017. 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. Rose likes his new equipment, caddie and coach and is comfortable with the team around him again. Collin Morikawa Burns also finished T-11th at The American Express. 17. 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. Hes a Louisianan, but he tends to play his best golf in the southeastern United States. Rahm has been especially hot as of late, which is why he tops the official world golf rankings. TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Puerto Rico), Sleepers (API), SUNDAY: Payouts and Points (API), Payouts and Points (Puerto Rico), Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle. Daniel Berger Bradley, 36, is third in FedEx Cup points. His best finish in three starts this year was a tie for 13th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. It currently plays to a par 70 at 7,244 yards with a 75.5 course rating and 149 slope rating. 15 in the second round, which knocked him out for the weekend. Scottie Scheffler 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. Copyright 2023 PGA TOUR, Inc. All rights reserved. Cantlay has six straight top-10s dating to his back-to-back victories in the FedEx Cup playoffs at the end of last season. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. Things are about to get good on the PGA Tour. He's 13th strokes gained: total and has putted well this season. 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). The strongest that the invisible force will get is approximately 20 mph, but the positive spin, as it were, is that itll be consistent throughout the tournament. Previous rank: 8 He'll make his debut on tour this year at Riviera. He is scheduled to play in the Genesis Invitational. Ranking Four World Championship Tournaments, The Aussie and brother to LPGA star Minjee Lee. Its fun to watch the games best have to struggle to make par and be tested on a tough layout. Pro golf will be back to California this summer for the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, but the PGA Tours West Coast swing is in the books. He would have become only the fifth player to win it three times, joining Phil Mickelson, Mark Calcavecchia, Gene Littler and Arnold Palmer. With primary rough at least 3 inches high, distance and accuracy off the tee plays up all week. Shane Lowry : Im going to make the prediction that Lowry ends his strange poor history of four missed cuts here this week. 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). Did the former world No. Matthew Fitzpatrick : I like to add a few extra players sometimes for big tournaments, and Fitzpatrick is worth noting this week. Cantlay ranks 127th on tour in shots gained: approach (-.117). And since The Genesis Invitational was, self-evidently, an invitational, top 10s at Pebble would get into The Honda Classic. After missing the cut in three of his past four tour starts, Koepka finally showed a pulse and was in contention to win his third WM Phoenix Open title. Sungjae Im is the highest among them at No. MEN -- 10 needed to qualify on nine worldwide tours: PGA Tour, PGA European Tour, Nationwide Tour, Japan Golf Tour, Southern Africa Tour, PGA Tour of AustralAsia . Just a friendly reminder that these aren't necessarily the 25 most talented players in . Also recorded a T11 at Pebble Beach four weeks ago. Hes 4-for-5 in 2023. The greens can run fast if conditions allow. Bet with your head, not over it. 2 in the world, will regain the top spot after becoming the seventh player to repeat as champion of the WM Phoenix Open, an event he claimed last year for his first PGA Tour victory. 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. Previous rank: 1 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. 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. Morikawa missed the cut at the WM Phoenix Open, his first missed weekend since the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews in July. Cameron Smith An entertaining run on the west coast headlined the PGA Tour during the January and February months, but now the golfers have headed east with the Masters on the horizon in early April. Still, the last two winners of Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau make it clear that elite drivers win around here. Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy entered the year ranked No. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. In 2022, Lee struggled early on with one top-10 in his first 20 starts. Jon Rahm : Rahms numbers in the model this week are just absurd, and hes a runaway No. Spieth bounced back from disappointing back-to-back starts-he missed the cut at the Sony Open and tied for 63rd at Pebble Beach-to finish tied for sixth at TPC Scottsdale. Nothing has gone terribly wrong for him, and theres a chance Kim will be happy to get back to the south where he first won. 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. Arnold Palmer Invitational 2023 odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook . He has five top-25 finishes in seven tour starts this season, including a tie for third at the Shriners Children's Open and QBE Shootout, an unofficial event. 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. Payne Stewart in 1987 was the only player to go 20-under when he won by three. Ranks 2nd in SG: P and 16th in the model. It was his ninth consecutive top-10 finish worldwide; he was in the top five in seven of his past nine events. Only 10 players broke par for 72 holes. The Aussie and brother to LPGA star Minjee Lee is used to playing new venues all over the world. He briefly challenged Rahm on Sunday, and he was playing some of the best golf in the world to end his 2022. 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. Numerous changes have been made to PGA National in the last 12 months, but most of the impactful modifications involved bunkering on seven holes. Bay Hill has been a stock par 72 since 2010. He had made 13 straight cuts, which was the longest active streak on tour. 20. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. PGA Tour golf rankings at CBSSports.com include the world golf rankings, FedEx Cup points, and money list. He tied for fifth at 7-under at Riviera last year. The driver and putter are putting in elite work, while the irons have shown enough life at times to get him near the top of the leaderboard. Young, the 2022 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, had quite the week. When it does, it could make a difference of 10-15 degrees cooler. Thomas, the reigning PGA Championship winner, still seemed to be dialing things in heading into Phoenix. The qualifications for this exclusive event are pretty simple: win a tournament during the 2021 calendar year, stretching across two seasons (January to December). . Get exclusive access to more than 3,000 premium articles a year from top writers. He is skipping the Genesis Invitational after missing the cut in his last two starts at Riviera. 5. This event has annually attracted strong fields since it began in 1966 and moved to current host course, Bay Hill Club and Lodge, in 1979. Proud of how I fought around the golf course.". The strongest that the invisible force will get is approximately 20 mph, but the positive spin, as it were, is that it'll be consistent throughout the tournament. is making his 2023 debut: Scheffler picked up his fifth victory over the past 365 days, but he hasn't been as consistent as Rahm during the past few months. Scheffler is atop the OWGR for the second time in his career, after spending 30 weeks at No. 2 ranked player in the world. There were plenty of changes in this week's edition of the PGA Tour Power Rankings, including a new No. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. 1 Rory McIlroy leads a WM Phoenix Open field that features 22 of the world's top 25 golfers. Finau has (barely) cooled off from his sizzling stretch last season, in which he won in back-to-back starts and was ninth at the Tour Championship. 1, a loaded LPGA field and more to watch in golf this week, Here's everything you missed this week in professional golf, Jin Young Ko up by 2 in Singapore title defense, Quigley fires 65 for early lead in PGA Champions, Kitayama handles windy Bay Hill as Rahm falters, Tiger not part of field for next week's Players, Young stretches lead to 4 in Puerto Rico Open, Rahm stays hot, finishes strong for Bay Hill lead, Rookie Young captures Puerto Rico lead with 63. Brutally difficult conditions led to Scottie Scheffler persevering to win at 5-under last year. PGATOUR.coms Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Well look at SG: Approach as well as Greens in Regulations Gained to get a grasp on the guys who will be avoiding trouble with their irons this week and making plenty of pars. By Friday, thatll be the sustained average for the prevailing push from the southwest, while gusts will reach 35 mph. 1 once again. Finished 5th here last year. So, course management and accepting par as a great score at times will be key. by Mastercard Rd 2 - Suspended ESPN+ ESPN Search. Greenside seats, you've been warned. 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. 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. The tee-to-green play was still there, and now the World No. Hideki Matsuyama Matt Fitzpatrick 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.. pic.twitter.com/U4xDqJhNHs. It started to come together at TPC Scottsdale. 1 for much of last season, when he won four times, including his first major championship (at the Masters). 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. Our experts have a couple of Arnold Palmer Invitational predictions that they like, but their best bet is on Will Zalatoris to win outright with +2200 odds at DraftKings Sportsbook. Brooks Koepka NHL trade grades: Latest deals 21. Viktor Hovland : Hovlands short game continues to let him down as he struggles to get much going since his run at The Open at St. Andrews. Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, Jordan Spieth and Hideki Matsuyama will be among the notables considered in Golfbet Insider. J.T. Last week at PGA National gave us a fun week considering the lack of star power in the field. Will Zalatoris : It was good to see him play well at Riviera with a 4th place finish and nearly 8 strokes gained with his ball striking. Completely disregarded the laws on physics on this one. Xander Schauffele : Schauffele has been a bit lost since he tied the lead in Phoenix on Saturday, as he dropped to 10th there on Sunday and had a strange week at Riviera. The Dick Wilson design is a course that does not allow players to get too creative strategically. He lost in a playoff to Homa and finished second in the 2021 Genesis Invitational. PGA Tour Power Rankings: Is Jon Rahm ready to return to the top? Since winning the Shriners Children's Open in October, he tied for fifth at the Tournament of Champions and for sixth at the American Express. Previous rank: 13 Bay Hill gives players more approaches from 200 or more yards than any other course on Tour. It's difficult to believe that it has been 456 days since DJ last won a PGA Tour event -- the 2020 Masters that was played in November. The driver has been very consistent lately, so hell just need a colder than usual putter to get rolling. He finished second in the Saudi International, 2 shots behind LIV Golf's Abraham Ancer, and collected $525,000. Our Arnold Palmer Invitational predictions are focused on Will Zalatoris, who is also among the top choices at +2200. I'm not happy at all that I'm seventh. 10. McIlroy hasn't played in the U.S. since winning The CJ Cup at Summit. 3. 19. 1. Hell bank 300 FedExCup points and $684,000 of a record prize fund of $3.8 million. It could get windy but doesnt look like it will be too out of control. The highest-ranked golfer is Louis Oosthuizen at 13th in the world. 1, a loaded LPGA field and more to watch in golf this week, Here's everything you missed this week in professional golf, Jin Young Ko up by 2 in Singapore title defense, Quigley fires 65 for early lead in PGA Champions, Kitayama handles windy Bay Hill as Rahm falters, Tiger not part of field for next week's Players, Young stretches lead to 4 in Puerto Rico Open, Rahm stays hot, finishes strong for Bay Hill lead, Rookie Young captures Puerto Rico lead with 63. TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Puerto Rico), Sleepers (API), SUNDAY: Payouts and Points (API), Payouts and Points (Puerto Rico), Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle. Nothing but sunshine and a few passing clouds will consume the sky. 4. Follow your favorite players throughout the 2023 season. Over his past six starts, Hoge finished tied for fourth, missed cut, solo second, missed cut, first and a tie for 14th. But his course history of 9th, 10th, 9th and 2nd is still worth looking at. PGATOUR.coms Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Ranks 2nd in SG: APP and 4th in GIRs Gained. PGATOUR.coms Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. * - Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COMs Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday. Ranks 1st in the model, 3rd in SG: OTT, 3rd in High Winds and 3rd in GIRs Gained. Weve seen some tougher courses for Par 5 scoring as of late, but Bay Hill is a place where you really want to get your birdies on those four holes and survive for the rest of the round. 12. Daytime highs could hit 90 degrees until the wind shifts. It guarantees that someone else will be holding the trophy. Rickie Fowler. 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. Just make sure to click here to create your new DraftKings account today. Just a friendly reminder that these aren't necessarily the 25 most talented players in the . There are designated events, and then there is the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Details of the variables of the week are below. Previous rank: 22 After opening with a 70 in Phoenix, he caught fire over the final 54 holes to tie for sixth. Xander Schauffele Of the 23 Player Impact Program winners, the only not to commit is Tiger Woods. His career-low round, of course, was a 59 at the 2020 Northern Trust. The course measures 7,261 yards for a par 70. 16. 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. 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. Ranks 5th in Proximity: 200+ Yards and 8th in SG: OTT. 4 @WMPhoenixOpen. Ranks 9th in SG: Par 5 and 12th in High Winds. He'll take you inside the world of golf with exclusive looks at some of the top courses, feature stories, celebrity guests and interviews with the biggest stars in golf. Call 1-800-GAMBLER if you have a gambling problem. There may be few players happier that the PGA Tour is onto the Florida swing than Sam Burns. Its clear the Englishman loves the firm conditions and high winds that are often present in Orlando. Now 291st in the OWGR, the 29-year-old is seeking to rekindle the form that he flashed here last year. TPC Southwind boasts 94 bunkers and 10 water hazards, and usually ranks as a top-third difficult course. A year ago, PGA National averaged 71.341, and thats pretty much where everyone expected it to land. * - Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COMs Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday. The Australian took the week off after finishing in a tie for fourth at the Saudi International. Ultimately, his top-10 exemption wasnt necessary, anyway, as the entire Korn Ferry Tour graduate reshuffle category looped in on merit, so even its reorder at the conclusion of the West Coast Swing had no impact. 8. The cutline has been over par in 10 of the last 11 years. The former LSU star had been red-hot since the start of the 2021-22 season back in September, but back-to-back missed cuts at the Farmers Insurance Open and WM Phoenix Open have cooled him off considerably. Will likely be excited to get back on Bermuda. Kokrak won the Houston Open in November, his third victory in 13 months. Another bounce back for @XSchauffele pic.twitter.com/pIvn48nDKs, It's official. 19. Rafael Campos The 34-year-old native of Puerto Rico hasnt been the same since an injured left elbow thwarted his only DNP in tournament history in 2020. Corey Conners : Conners will be happy hes off the West Coast considering his usual struggles there. "These are the days that we were dreaming about." HV3 is probably still celebrating his big victory in Saudi Arabia, even after missing the cut in Phoenix. The challenge for him will be a poor history so far in high winds. 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. Well see if history repeats itself again, and Scottie is clearly locked in. This is the fourth designated event of the season. The PGA Tour heads north to central Florida to visit Orlando and continue the Florida Swing at one of the most well-known events of the season. PGATOUR.coms Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. 1. He outlasted a couple of huge longshots in Eric Cole and Ryan Gerard, both of which would have been incredible stories on their own. Its in a tough spot on the schedule with back-to-back designated events coming right before and another one to immediately follow at next weeks Arnold Palmer Invitational. It guarantees that someone else will be holding the trophy. In five starts, Burns has made a respectable four cuts, but last year's T-9th (72-69-75-71) was his first top-10 at Bay Hill. PGA Championship Fantasy Golf Power Rankings (odds via DraftKings as of May 12) 1. Bermuda grass is where he tends to thrive. 13. 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. 17. He hadn't missed the weekend since the 2021 Masters. How much "louder" will LIV Golf get in its second season? After a slow start to the season, the former Florida star is beginning to heat up. It's the third ace of his career. Bet Now TULSA, Okla. When it does, it could make a difference of 10-15 degrees cooler. The California native has already won twice in his home state this season, picking up victories at the Fortinet Championship in Napa and Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. That elevated status brings a purse of $20 million. Seamus Power: irl 2.579 . 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. Here are the latest PGA Tour Power Rankings heading into this week's Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club, where you-know-who (Tiger Woods!) 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. Rather, its one of those tracks that players will say is all out in front of you. That means its all about executing. Notice the amount of green AM tee times. Id imagine hes ready to challenge the big names again. Marc Leishman An unforgettable PGA Tour season reaches its second major championship this week, as the best of the best golfers in the world congregate in the oil capital of the world, better known as Tulsa, Oklahoma, as Southern Hills Country Club hosts the 2022 PGA Championship. Highest-Owned Golfers. 18. 15. 24. Keegan Bradley : I always think of Bradley when I hear about potentially brutal conditions on a course. Putting can give you some real success at Bay Hill. Few players have performed better at the TPC Scottsdale than Matsuyama, who had victories there in 2016 and 2017. As one of three invitationals on Tour, its an invite-only field of 120 players and provides automatic three-year exemption status to the winner of the event instead of the standard two years. His career victory total is second among South Korean golfers; K.J. He ranks in the top 15 on tour in strokes gained: total, tee to green and approach. 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 . Unlike, PGA National last week, Bay Hill isnt a complete second-shot course. Free to enter! All five dozen bunkers on the property also are equipped with new drainage and sand. Kim, from South Korea, is tough to beat when his putter gets hot. He also led the Phoenix field in strokes gained: tee to green and scrambling. Previous rank: 6 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. Hes also 18th in scrambling (67.86%) and seventh in successfully going for the green (64.81%). Burns ranks 16th in strokes gained per round putting (.723) and is 16th in driving distance (312.0).