Missed fairways will be inevitable, so playing out of the thick rough with short irons instead of long irons is a big advantage. Phil Allen of Twenty First Group noted that Matsuyama has 29 rounds in the 60s there -- the most since 2014 -- and 32 of his 33 rounds at the Phoenix Open have been par or better. Previous rank: 13 These Bermuda greens are fast and pure, and the winner here tends to have a really strong week with the flat stick. Of the 23 Player Impact Program winners, the only not to commit is Tiger Woods. Ranks 22nd in High Winds. Hes unsurprisingly 1st in High Winds, and some of his recent top finishes came when the going got very tough. His current form is absolutely terrible, as hes been dealing with an injury and the irons have been awful. After finishing solo fifth at Phoenix, he now has three top-10s and seven top-25s in nine starts this season. Jason Sobel Updated: May 18, 2022, 11:21 AM EDT Download App Click arrow to expand 2022 PGA Championship odds via BetMGM Bet the PGA Championship risk-free up to $1,000. He finished in a tie for third at 15-under. So, course management and accepting par as a great score at times will be key. Ranks 2nd in SG: APP and 4th in GIRs Gained. Previous rank: 15 Its officially a designated event in 2023, but you dont need to conceive a visual of the King himself winking, grinning and giving a thumbs-up to approve what we already know, that this tournament is special. Kim backed that win up with consecutive top-25 finishes at the American Express, Farmers Insurance Open and WM Phoenix Open. 7 in the world last week, JT said, "I tried to stop looking because, yeah, it pisses me off, too. 1 Jon Rahm. Other results in Orlando include T-49th in 2018, T-54th in 2019, T-36th in 2020, and a missed cut in 2021. Those only resulted in an 11th, 10th and 20th thanks to other areas failing him, but this is a course he has plenty of experience on and has finished 3rd in the past. Scroll to the bottom to find odds comparisons for every golfer in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Zalatoris didn't play in Phoenix after he was forced to pull out of the AT&T Pebble Pro-Am a week earlier after testing positive for COVID-19. Ranks 3rd in Proximity: 200+ Yards and 5th in the model. 9. PGA Tour Power Rankings: Is Jon Rahm ready to return to the top? Collin Morikawa : Morikawa grades out exceptionally in every category this week except putting, and that will be the obvious spot that determines his finish this week. The driver has been very consistent lately, so hell just need a colder than usual putter to get rolling. Previous rank: Not ranked Tiger Woods, who is not in the field this year, has won Arnold Palmers event a whopping eight times. Hes 4-for-5 in 2023. Thomas posted his fifth top-20 finish in as many PGA Tour starts this season with a tie for eighth at the WM Phoenix Open. Ranks 7th in SG: OTT and 7th in SG: APP. He hit the ball well last year, gaining nearly 2 strokes per round tee-to-green on the field, but his putting was dreadful, which is why he finished in a tie for 43rd. In his first start at the Genesis last year, he tied for 15th at 4-under, 8 strokes behind winner Max Homa. Day had just two top-10s and five top-25s in 19 starts last season. Scottie Scheffler : The World No. 1 Rory McIlroy leads a WM Phoenix Open field that features 22 of the world's top 25 golfers. Shortest in odds and claiming top honor is Sungjae Im. pic.twitter.com/0TL3TH7DyA, Scottie Scheffler couldn't believe it.Neither could this fan pic.twitter.com/YpzqEDCBkx, What happens when a fan catches your golf ball? Stream on ESPN+. Completely disregarded the laws on physics on this one. Copyright 2023 PGA TOUR, Inc. All rights reserved. Six were top-fives. FREE Picks Contest For the Arnold Palmer Invitational: Win An Amazon Gift Card Instantly! He finished 10th in the Genesis Invitational last season, after claiming his second PGA Tour win in the event in 2021. Ranking Four World Championship Tournaments. 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. The question will be if the putter does enough to win. The Australian took the week off after tying for 28th in last week's Saudi International. In what appears to be the most star-studded event hosted at Riviera Country Club since the 1995 PGA Championship, only world No. Almost all the worlds top stars will be in attendance as this is one of the PGA Tours newly designated events. It is time for the first opportunity event of the season. Things are about to get good on the PGA Tour. The field gets a primer on Thursday when gusts might touch 20 mph. Xander Schauffele PGATOUR.coms Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. 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, ahem, treated to one of the hardest par 70s on the PGA TOUR. Hes proof of the value of a home game. He had been too inconsistent off the tee and his putting hadn't been great, either. The Florida swing on the PGA Tour begins this week at the 2023 Honda Classic as players aim to kickstart their seasons in the Sunshine State. The field at Bay Hill is absolutely loaded once again for the PGA Tours new elevated events. The Australian took the week off after finishing in a tie for fourth at the Saudi International. Gained 11.4 strokes ball striking in his debut here last year. Jon Rahm He had made 13 straight cuts, which was the longest active streak on tour. 91 to No. Predicting 2023 NFL starting QBs Details of the variables of the week are below. He hadn't missed the weekend since the 2021 Masters. *: Power Rankings (Puerto Rico), Sleepers (API), Payouts and Points (API), Payouts and Points (Puerto Rico), Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. There are designated events, and then there is the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. 7. PGA Tour golf rankings at CBSSports.com include the world golf rankings, FedEx Cup points, and money list. 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. PGATOUR.coms Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. 10. Might he get back on track at Riviera? NHL trade grades: Latest deals This is the fourth designated event of the season. Lee can wallop the ball. Perks for the winner, a brief breakdown of Grand Reserve Golf Club and more can be found below. Follow your favorite players throughout the 2023 season. Chris Kirk lifted his first trophy since 2015 as he completely a lovely comeback story after dealing with alcoholism and depression. Cantlay ranks 127th on tour in shots gained: approach (-.117). 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. PGA TOUR Rob Bolton's fantasy golf preview for the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational ROB BOLTON'S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.com's Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives.. They sandwiched a pair of top 15s in his native South Africa in December, so its not like he hasnt put four round together in a minute. 17 took a bad bounce and went into the water, resulting in a bogey. 1, Tiger to play in next week's Genesis Invitational, Author of seven books on college football. After tying for 25th in back-to-back starts at the Tournament of Champions and Farmers Insurance Open, he was much better in Phoenix, finishing solo fourth at 13 under. As always, Ill prefer distance, but you can get around here in a variety of ways. Min Woo Lee is making his Honda Classic debut this week on a sponsor exemption. Scheffler had a round of 9-under 62 in the second round in Phoenix, which was his fifth career round of 62 or lower. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, only one other player in the past 20 seasons has put together a stretch like that: Tiger Woods. He had a 1-shot lead at the Sandersons Farms Championship in October and tied for eighth. 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! He was just four off the winning pace on a crowded, talented . Marc Leishman This is the fourth designated event of the season. He'll have a chance to get things right at Riviera, where he tied for second, 2 strokes behind Joaquin Niemann, last season. Of the 23 Player Impact Program winners, the only not to commit is Tiger Woods. PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, and the Swinging Golfer design are registered trademarks. Since Scheffler's first victory at TPC Scottsdale a year ago, he has collected $17.6 million in official earnings, not including what he won at the Tour Championship at the end of last season. How Arnold Palmers Bay Hill Club & Lodge will present itself, what Mother Nature has planned and more can be found below. With primary rough at least 3 inches high, distance and accuracy off the tee plays up all week. PGATOUR.coms Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. He claimed the Houston Open in November and has four straight finishes of 16th or better since then, after finishing in a tie for 14th at Phoenix. 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. Last week at PGA National gave us a fun week considering the lack of star power in the field. He had three victories in his previous eight worldwide starts. Lets get down to the top 10 players to get it done at PGA National: Min Woo Lee, 150th Open Championship, St. Andrews, Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports. Cantlay, who is ranked No. After a slow start to the season, the former Florida star is beginning to heat up. Ranks 1st in the model, 3rd in SG: OTT, 3rd in High Winds and 3rd in GIRs Gained. The Aussie and brother to LPGA star Minjee Lee is used to playing new venues all over the world. Its fun to watch the games best have to struggle to make par and be tested on a tough layout. Hes never played the Arnold Palmer, but Cantlay has strong results in Florida and enjoys tough conditions. It had chased a couple of grumbles on the Korn Ferry Tour just before that. Previous rank: 8 Scheffler, who entered the week ranked No. Max Homa : Continued his incredible run in California with a 2nd at Riviera, and its safe to say hes being respected as one of the best in the world at this point. PGA Championship Fantasy Golf Power Rankings (odds via DraftKings as of May 12) 1. It was the last time Honda will host the tournament at PGA National. It's a weaker field than we've seen at the past two designated PGA Tour events, with the likes of Sungjae Im and Shane Lowry headlining the Honda Classic 2023 field. Competed once before at Grand Reserve, finishing T52 in 2020 via a sponsor exemption. 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. 22. Bay Hill has been a stock par 72 since 2010. 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. Get ESPN+ here | Download the app | WatchESPN. Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy will once again be looking to be World No. 5. Harold Varner III (Stacy Revere/Getty Images) The Grateful Dead didn't release an album about 2020, but the band . In 2022, Lee struggled early on with one top-10 in his first 20 starts. 1 in the world after tying for 10th at TPC Scottsdale, his fourth top-15 in as many PGA Tour starts in 2022. But his course history of 9th, 10th, 9th and 2nd is still worth looking at. Id imagine hes ready to challenge the big names again. You could certainly argue that over the past few weeks, Spain's Jon Rahm was performing like the best player in the world. "It almost kind of took my focus to the next level where I just did a really good job of managing my way around the golf course and making some really key shots down the stretch. 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. Expected high winds and firm conditions this week will also open things up a bit to accurate drivers. 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. It didnt matter to him that there were two fewer par 5s at the time, but thats always been a cornerstone weapon for the 82-time PGA TOUR winner. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. Still, the last two winners of Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau make it clear that elite drivers win around here. 22. He posted another top-10 on Sunday, a tie for eighth, after overcoming a shaky driver in the first two rounds with a combined 11 fairways hit. 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).