Arnold Palmer Invitational Predictions

The PGA Tour heads north into the suburbs of Orlando where one of the most prestigious events of the season awaits - The Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Arnold Palmer Invitational 2024 Tips

The fourth signature event of the 2024 PGA Tour season takes place this week with a star-studded field descending on Bay Hill Club and Lodge for the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

A reduced field of 69 will be battling it out for the increased prize pot and, with this being a player-hosted invitational, there will be a 36-hole cut to the top 50 and ties and any player within 10 shots of the lead.

Scottie Scheffler, making his first appearance since the Genesis Invitational, is the 13/2 favourite to claim the spoils, while Rory McIlroy is priced at 8/1 and the trio of Sam Burns, Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele are all 14/1.

Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth come next in the betting, both priced at 16/1, while defending champion Kurt Kitayama is 80/1 to become the first player since Matt Every in 2015 to win back-to-back titles.

Tommy Fleetwood to Win and Each-way @ 22/1

There is plenty of talent to choose from this week and one player that stands out is Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, who has already tasted success this year when winning the Dubai Invitational on the DP World Tour.

Since that success, the world number 12 has recorded finishes of T14 (Dubai Desert Classic), T31 (Pebble Beach) and T10 (Genesis Invitational), highlighting how sharp his game is right now.

Reliable as ever with the putter, the 33-year-old's fantastic tee-to-green game makes him a great fit for Bay Hill and his previous results prove this, with his seven cracks at Arnold Palmer glory reading 10-26-3-MC-10-20-61.

Chris Kirk Leader After Round 1 @ 50/1

While Chris Kirk is an appealing 66/1 to win the event, preference here is to back the American to be top of the pile after the opening 18 holes at Bay Hill.

The 38-year-old, who landed his sixth PGA Tour title at The Sentry in January, has performed well at the Arnold Palmer in recent years, finishing T8 in 2021 and then T5 the following year.

Although managing only a share of 39th in 2023, Kirk carded his best-ever round at this course that year on day one when signing for a five-under-par 67, leaving him tied-second after the first 18 holes.

Kirk finished off the delayed Cognizant Classic last time out with a brilliant 65 and it would be no surprise to see him take that momentum into Thursday's opening round at the Arnold Palmer.

The Course

Bay Hill Club & Lodge - Bay Hill, Orlando, Florida - Par 72, 7381 Yards

The PGA Tour heads north once again this week and to the suburbs of Orlando for one of the most prestigious events of the season; The Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge. Bay Hill is a famed track in the US, most notably through associations with the great man who passed away in 2016. The course itself is a 7,381 yard par 72 comprised of bermuda grass and fairways. The course is recognizable in that almost all holes are dog legs, and well protected with 85 bunkers, and water in play on 9 holes. The key to success at Bay Hill has often been great putting with past multiple winners including the likes of Tiger Woods, Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw and Matt Every.

All of the par 5s at Bay Hill are birdie opportunities, and it is them that keep the scoring so low each year at an otherwise challenging venue. The par 3s, including the 17th are all notably tough holes, and the winner this week will need to perform well in terms of par 3 scoring, scrambling around the greens, and there is also a strong correlation with players that have traditionally performed well elsewhere on the Florida swing.

Last Five Winners: