PGA Power Rankings: Top 5 Golfers For Arnold Palmer Invitational

PGA Power Rankings: Top 5 Golfers For Arnold Palmer Invitational

The fourth Signature Event of the 2024 PGA Tour season is set to get underway from Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida on Thursday morning.

69 of the Tour's top-ranked golfers will compete at Bay Hill, with a cut-line enforced after the first two rounds conclude. Any golfer within 10 strokes of the lead or in the top 50 lowest scores, including ties, will advance to Saturday and Sunday's final rounds.

Past winners of the Arnold Palmer Invitational event include Kurt Kitayama (-9-) in 2023, Scottie Scheffler (-5) in 2022, and Rory McIlroy (-18) in 2018. All three are in the field this week, with plenty of other talent waiting to prove themselves for a chance to snag 700 FedExCup points, a bid to The Open Championship, and a lucrative $4 million payout from a $20 million purse.

PGA handicapper Matt MacKay is back to give his latest analysis on how to bet on the outright winner market ahead of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational that tees off Thursday morning.

ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL DATE, START TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH

• Date: March 7 -10, 2024
• Where: Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Florida
• Where to Watch: ESPN+, Golf Channel, NBC

ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL COURSE

Bay Hill is a par 72 that runs over 7,400 yards in length. Like most Florida courses, water is everywhere, while rough stands at least three inches tall. Bermudagrass greens are 7,500 square feet in size, however, the Stimpmeter measures velocity at upwards of 13 feet.

These quick green speeds will be tricky to navigate with approach shots and putts but ball-striking remains the biggest advantage at Bay Hill. There are quite a few doglegged fairways and golfers won't have any par 5 relief until the fourth hole on the front-nine. Four par 5s and four par 3s means there's an equal number of opportunities for scorecards to go up and down.

Three of the four par 3 holes run over 200 yards, while none of the par 5 holes top 600 yards in length. Water hazards are located throughout the course, but the final 3-hole stretch is where it becomes most abundant. Precision off-the-tee and approaching greens will be key, although putters will need to be sharp with the elevated green velocity.

ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL ODDS

ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL POWER RANKINGS

1. VIKTOR HOVLAND (+1600) CLICK HERE TO SEE WHICH SPORTSBOOK HAS THE BEST ODDS

Reigning FedExCup champion, Viktor Hovland, has had a relatively quiet start to his 2024 PGA Tour season. The Norwegian has gone T22, T58, and T19 most recently at The Genesis Invitational, but he's fared well at Bay Hill in previous appearances. In 2023,

Hovland went T10 at -5-under-par, contending until a +3 final round that was the opposite of -6-under-par during Saturday's third round. He's +1600 in the outright market and ranks 20th strokes gained off-the-tee, while also ranking 28th in total putting. He's starting to trend up and is comfortable at this difficult ball-striker's course, so let's stake half a unit at this price on Hovland to win his first event in 2024.

2. JORDAN SPIETH (+2200) CLICK HERE TO SEE WHICH SPORTSBOOK HAS THE BEST ODDS

A disqualification from Genesis shouldn't keep us from betting on Jordan Spieth. He's won 13 events in his career and has produced two fourth-place finishes at Bay Hill in his last two appearances. This includes a T4 finish here in 2023, with Spieth going -2-under-par or better in three of the four rounds to wind up -7-under-par, two strokes back from winner Kurt Kitayama.

Spieth has gone 3, T39, and T6 prior to his DQ, plus he's ranked seventh in strokes gained around the green and seventh strokes gained putting. Tee-to-green he also specializes in, ranking 14th in strokes gained, while finding greens in regulation 77 percent of the time, which is third-best on the PGA Tour. At +2200, we should stake another half unit on Spieth to get his first win since the 2022 RBC Heritage.

3. CAMERON YOUNG (+2800) CLICK HERE TO SEE WHICH SPORTSBOOK HAS THE BEST ODDS

One of the more talented young golfers on the PGA Tour, Cameron Young is also another player trending upward heading into the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Young is fresh off of a T4 finish at the Cognizant Classic, which is already his second T10 finish in the last three events played. Bay Hill has been a good spot for Young in previous years, as he finished T10 in 2023 and T13 in 2022. He's equipped with a powerful driver, finds greens in regulation at a 73 percent rate, ranked 27th, and ranks 15th for birdie or better conversion percentage. Young dominates on par 4 holes, ranking eighth on the PGA Tour in scoring average, while also 18th in birdie average with 4.89 per round.

Let's stake a quarter unit on Young at +2800 odds in the outright betting market to finally get his first win on the PGA Tour after coming up as the runner-up in six of 57 events played in his five-year career.

4. JASON DAY (+3500) CLICK HERE TO SEE WHICH SPORTSBOOK HAS THE BEST ODDS

A former winner at Bay Hill, Jason Day has looked sharp in most of the rounds he's played this season.

The Aussie won the 2016 Arnold Palmer Invitational and added another outright win last year at the AT&T Byron Nelson to end a five-year win drought. Day has gone T6 and 9 in his last two events played, signaling that he's ready for another low scoring week at an event he's previously won outright.

Day ranks sixth in strokes gained around the green, 47th on approach, and 12th strokes gained tee-to-green. The putter has been a bit of an issue this year, but he has an edge with his play approaching the green and around the green. Ranked 27th scrambling and fifth in birdie or better conversion rate, Day is flying under the radar at a solid +3500 value in the outright betting market.

Let's stake a quarter unit on Day to piece it all together at Bay Hill to earn his second outright win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at +3500 odds.

5. HARRIS ENGLISH (+6000) CLICK HERE TO SEE WHICH SPORTSBOOK HAS THE BEST ODDS

Harris English may not be a household name compared to other guys in these power rankings but he's extremely talented in most events. After all, the 34-year-old Georgia native has won four career events, stacking two wins in 2021 at Sentry and Travelers.

English finished T2 at Bay Hill in 2023, never going under par in any of the four rounds played, but winding up one stroke back from forcing a playoff against Kurt Kitayama. This season, through six events, English has recorded two T10 finishes, including seventh at Genesis in his last outing.

Ranked 28th in total strokes gained, including 25th putting, 42nd off-the-tee, and 46th around the green, Harris is a complete player with a variety of tactics to lean on depending on the course. English has gone T2, T26, and T9 in his past three appearances at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, so he'll be right at home playing on a more difficult track than we've seen in the past couple of weeks.

Let's stake a quarter unit on English to avenge his runner-up finish a year ago and return to the winning podium at Bay Hill to end his three-year winless slump on Sunday.

GOLF ODDS

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