Morikawa is back from the Middle East and is scheduled to play at Riviera Country Club, which will be his first start on the U.S. mainland since a runner-up at The CJ Cup at Summit in mid-October. That means a $10 bet returns $65 of profit if the red-hot Spaniard does in fact win the tournament. Previous rank: 20 The Englishman has played very well in his first two starts in 2022, tying for sixth at Pebble Beach and tying for 10th at TPC Scottsdale. Few players have performed better at the TPC Scottsdale than Matsuyama, who had victories there in 2016 and 2017. The course measures 7,261 yards for a par 70. 2. Brutally difficult conditions led to Scottie Scheffler persevering to win at 5-under last year. 1, Tiger to play in next week's Genesis Invitational, Author of seven books on college football. 5. Brett White, who had to relearn how to walk and talk after battling a brain infection six years ago, made his PGA Tour debut. Did the former world No. Ranks 3rd in SG: Par 5 and 7th in the model. That resembled last year when he coasted at Riviera after winning in Phoenix and then added a 2nd victory at Bay Hill. Hell bank 300 FedExCup points and $684,000 of a record prize fund of $3.8 million. Like Deion Sanders, Rickie Fowler is coming. The Arnold Palmer Invitational field is absolutely loaded, led by world #1 Jon Rahm. His PGA TOUR Horse for the Course for daily fantasy golf based on course history. He has made only two starts on tour this year, finishing 38th in the Tournament of Champions and tied for 17th in the Sony Open. Tom Hoge NOTE: ShotLink is not utilized for this tournament. @StewartCink is already rocking a @KDTrey5 jersey pic.twitter.com/FQLxm4tuo8. The winner in a 156-player field has a record of 155-0-0, the runner-up is 154-1-0, etc. PGA Tour Power Rankings: Arnold Palmer Invitational Written by Tyler Duke Last Updated Feb 28, 2023 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. Harold Varner III In years past, I may have skewed driving stats toward Driving Distance on the week, but Ill simply be using SG: Off the Tee. "These are the days that we were dreaming about." FREE Picks Contest For the Arnold Palmer Invitational: Win An Amazon Gift Card Instantly! 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. Previous rank: Not ranked With a win, each also would qualify for the 2024 editions of the API. 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. Those rarities occurred in the third round (69.85) in 2014 and the second round (69.61) in 2017. Ranks 7th in SG: OTT and 7th in SG: APP. 8. It started to come together at TPC Scottsdale. 3. There are designated events, and then there is the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. He tied for 45th at the Saudi International. * - Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COMs Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday. Schauffele's ailing back hasn't been much of a problem since he withdrew from the Tournament of Champions in his first start of 2023. The highest-ranked golfer is Louis Oosthuizen at 13th in the world. For a variety of reasons. Completely disregarded the laws on physics on this one. 20. The PGA Tour's Florida Swing kicks off this week in Palm Beach Gardens when the 2023 Honda Classic tees off at PGA National. The positive is that Thomas rarely chains together poor ball striking, and he did putt well at Genesis. Justin Thomas (+1200) With seven top-10 finishes this season, including at the Masters in April, the 14-time. His opening 74 was the highest score by anyone inside the top 28. Of course, he remains indefinitely beholden to when his extended recovery will allow him to play in accordance with a chosen schedule. Finished 3rd and 11th here last two years. Previous rank: 3 Hes unsurprisingly 1st in High Winds, and some of his recent top finishes came when the going got very tough. Ranks 1st in SG: OTT and 1st in GIRs Gained. In his first start at the Genesis last year, he tied for 15th at 4-under, 8 strokes behind winner Max Homa. Theres usually rain during at least some point in the event and water lurks around many corners. 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. Scottie Scheffler : The World No. Ranks 1st in SG: Par 5, 2nd in SG: APP and 2nd in the model. @JordanSpieth found out on this unique ruling on No. 7. 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. Rahm would have to be ranked No. Hes proof of the value of a home game. Schauffele was right in the mix again in Phoenix, even after a run-in with a cactus and losing his regular caddie, Austin Kaiser, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday. Billy Horschel Its going to be hot and humid this week but little to no rain is expected. When it does, it could make a difference of 10-15 degrees cooler. Poston, Thomas Detry, Webb Simpson and Min Woo Lee will be among the notables reviewed in Golfbet Insider. He finished in a tie for third at 15-under. It was his ninth consecutive top-10 finish worldwide; he was in the top five in seven of his past nine events. 12. With tree-lined, narrow fairways on a longer course, elite drivers of the golf ball are at an upper hand at Bay Hill. Going into Round 3 . He took T-2nd at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship where he was just a shot behind Victor Perez. pic.twitter.com/U4xDqJhNHs. Gary Woodland : Woodlands irons have been on fire, so theres definitely some intrigue here after he finished 9th at Riviera and gained 9.7 strokes on approach. He was sixth on the DP World Tour last year in driving distance (322.07). Ultimately, his top-10 exemption wasnt necessary, anyway, as the entire. Highest-Owned Golfers. Bermuda grass is in play as is the case throughout much of the Sunshine State. So, the test still tips at 7,125 yards, the tallest of the overseeded rough might not reach three inches and the TifEagle bermuda greens will run 12 feet on the Stimpmeter. 8. 1 for more than another dozen years to catch Woods' record total of 679 weeks ranked atop the Official World Golf Ranking. 9. In his defense, he might have needed a week to calm his nerves after his cliff-hanger shot in the third round at Pebble Beach. Hes much better on Bermuda, and hes worth a look this week due to his strong ball striking and ability to get it around well in high winds. 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. The first designated event of the PGA Tour season means a $20 million purse, and world No. 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. After pulling out of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (he was the defending champion) because of a back injury, Berger missed the cut at TPC Scottsdale. Xander Schauffele Our Arnold Palmer Invitational predictions are focused on Will Zalatoris, who is also among the top choices at +2200. * - Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COMs Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday. Previous rank: 12 Gained 11.4 strokes ball striking in his debut here last year. 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. 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. 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. Copyright 2023 PGA TOUR, Inc. All rights reserved. Average-sized paspalum greens wont exceed 11 feet on the Stimpmeter because of the omnipresence of the sea breezes from the east. Here is the list of favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook: If you or a loved one has questions or needs to talk to a professional about gambling, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit 1800gambler.net for more information. Unlike last week, none of the top-10 golfers in the world are in attendance this week; only 12 of the top-50 in the world are making their way to PGA National for The Honda Classic. The winning scores each of the past three years have been 18, 23 and 25-under-par respectively. That means a $10 bet returns $65 of profit if the red-hot Spaniard . 1 Jon Rahm. Sungjae Im : Im not going to make the mistake of dismissing Sungjae this week because of a couple of mediocre results at Honda and Riviera. Rory McIlroy is not human. However, giving the benefit of the doubt that, indeed, his game can travel, the third-ranked putter on TOUR deserves attention on a track that, like TPC Summerlin, can capitalize on piling up the scoring opportunities. 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. 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! Previous rank: 11 Factors at play on the rankings are (in no order): Using the guidelines above to create a statistical model, value can be found in the betting market by highlighting players whose outlook for the tournament may be flying under the radar to the general public. 1 Rory McIlroy leads a WM Phoenix Open field that features 22 of the world's top 25 golfers. He still has three top-10s, including a victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Returning participants will be greeted to a course that will be wholly familiar. Daytime temperatures will eclipse 80 degrees and the threat for rain is relegated to a passing shower at worst. The tee-to-green play was still there, and now the World No. When asked about being ranked No. Scottie Scheffler Previous rank: 10 Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele are among them, and Scheffler comes in as the defending champion. By signing up here for a new account right now, all new users can lock in their chance at $150 in bonus bets. The 15th edition of the Puerto Rico Open is slated to be contested concurrently with the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard for the second straight year. PGATOUR.coms Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Jon Rahm Cantlay ranks 127th on tour in shots gained: approach (-.117). Details of the variables of the week are below. The greens tend to not be too difficult to roll putts in on, especially for guys based in the Southeast U.S. used to Bermuda. Daniel Berger