The PGA Tour continues this week, as many of the world’s best golfers converge at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge for the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Check out our preview of some of the favorites, sleepers, and long shots for this event.
McIlroy hasn’t won a thing so far this season, but here’s one reason he’s a favorite to win the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational: McIlroy has finished outside of the top 11 at Bay Hill Club & Lodge just once in six starts. In four starts in that course since 2017, McIlroy has finished not finished worse than fifth, which includes his win at the 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Last year, he placed fifth to grab a share of the prize pot, amounting to $330,731.25. After missing the cut at the Genesis Open, McIlroy returned to form and went T6 at the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession.
Bryson DeChambeau (+1000)
DeChambeau is primed for a strong performance after getting cut at the Genesis Invitational and going T22 at the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship. DeChambeau opened the season with a win out of the gate, topping the US Open last year then had a T8 at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. In the 2020 Arnold Invitational, DeChambeau placed fourth to recover from his 46th-place finish in the 2019 edition of the tournament. He nearly won there in 2018 when he finished solo second behind McIlroy.
Viktor Hovland (+1100)
Hovland has been on a hot stretch. He’s finished inside the top five in each of his last five starts, a stretch that also saw him win the Mayakoba Golf Classic back in December. Hovland has not missed a cut in all nine starts this season, so far, though he’s not cracked the top 40 in his past two appearances at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge.
HIGH-VALUE SLEEPERS
Sam Burns (+4000)
Burns could be into something after finishing solo third at the Genesis Invitational, which was his strongest finish to date this season. Burns has cracked the top 10 in 10 starts this season and missed the cut just twice.
Max Homa (+5000)
Homa scored a win in the Genesis Invitational to follow up on his T7 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am finish. Last week, he had a T22 in the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship. Homa has two top 10s and six top 25s in 12 starts (three missed cuts) this season.
LONG SHOTS
Danny Willett (+17500)
Willet is understandably a long shot here, as he’s only made the cut twice in five starts this season. The last time he saw action was in the RSM Classic way back in November. His best finish this season so far was a T25 in the Masters Tournament
JT Poston (+17500)
Poston had missed the cut four times in a row from the Masters to the American Express but has managed to go 3 of 3 in the last three starts he’s made. That includes his T11 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Writer’s Prediction
Rory McIlroy wins the 2021 Arnold Invitational Palmer.
