It’s a bumper week of golf the week before The Players’ Championship at Sawgrass with The Arnold Palmer Invitational attracting the cream of the crop this week at Bay Hill.
Arnold Palmer Invitational 2024 Preview
World Number One and premier ball-striker Scottie Scheffler is once again all the rage, having won the event in 2022 and finishing T4 12 months ago, however questions about his short-game remain after a less than stellar outing two weeks ago at The Genesis.
He leads the market for success at ‘Arnie’s Place’ with another former winner Rory McIlroy, the tournament second favourite. Rory, a winner back in 2018, was narrowly denied when second 12 months ago and boasts a tremendous record at Bay Hill.
Arnold Palmer Invitational prices from kwiff
Scottie Scheffler 6.30
Rory McIlroy 8.05
Viktor Hovland 13.10
Xander Schaufele 13.90
Patrick Cantley 14.20
Ludvig Aberg 15.70
Jordan Spieth 18.0
Collin Morikawa 19.20
20.0 Bar
Such has been the defection to LIV that the sole previous winners reappearing are last year’s Kurt Kitayama, alongside Francesco Molinari (2019) and Jason Day (2016). Day is already a winner this year on tour and is lurking at the 25.0 mark, but it might be wiser to veer towards those that have better recent form around here.
Arnold Palmer Invitiational: Viktory Awaits
Norway’s Viktor Hovland is something of a forgotten man this season due to his sluggish start, but he is another with the ideal game for Bay Hill and I can’t resist a nibble on him at 14.0. Hovland has worked hard to improve his short-game, which remains his ‘Achilles Heel’.
The 26 year old is one of the game’s best tee-to-green, producing an exemplary round of ball-striking when winning The Tour Championship, and indeed, FEDEX Cup last September at East Lake. He finished T2 behind Scheffler here in 2022 (and T10 last season) and is worth chancing at his current prices.
Past winners seem to have a great record around Bay Hill and I’m surprised to see last year’s winner Kurt Kitayama so big given how well he played here 12 months ago. The American got his head in front, despite being chased down by both Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy – finding an incredible birdie at 17 to go one up with one to play. The bottle and grit shown to win a maiden title on The PGA Tour will stand him in good stead here in the heat of battle once again.
Arnold Palmer Invitational: Super Saffers
Both the PGA and DP World Tour produced maiden winners last week on each respective tour, with American Jordan Gumberg prevailing in a play-off for the SDC Championship. That tournament was one of three successive weeks in South Africa, and local lads tend to do well on the trademark kikuya grass.
The kikuya makes it hard for those not overly familiar with to gauge the lie – ending in those completely duffing or hitting what golfers consider a ‘flyer’ and completely misjudging the shot. A player that shouldn’t have a problem with such conditions is Thriston Lawrence (13.60) who looks head and shoulders above the field for the Jonnson Workwear Open.
Lawrence, the model of consistency over the last 18 months, is a winner in his native country and has performed brilliantly in more difficult tournaments throughout the summer. He boasts monstrous power off the tee and should mincemeat of some of the par 5s.
Another with similar power is Zander Lombard – a man who boasts the sixth best stroke average on tour. The 29 year old remains a maiden on tour despite numerous closer efforts. He missed the cut last week due to opening rounds of 77-75 however, prior to that had started the season finishing T13-T2-T16-T6. He was arguably unlucky to finish second behind compatriot Dylan Fritelli in Bahrain, and should be there or thereabouts once more in his native homeland.
Arnold Palmer Invitiational Selections
Viktor Hovland at 13.10 with kwiff
Kurt Kitayama at 61.0 with kwiff
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18+ | BeGambleAware.org
By Jack Milner
