Par for the course

Par for the course

This week's PGA Tour event is the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Fla. This is a “signature event,” so the field is limited to 72 golfers. Bay Hill is a classic Florida style layout defined by its length, penal rough, firm and fast putting surfaces, and an abundance of bunkers and water hazards. The handicap starts with Scottie Scheffler (+333), who has won this event twice (2022, 2024) in the last four years. Notes on some other golfers in this week's field:

• Rory McIlroy (10-1) is also a former winner (2018) here and has six top-10 finishes in 11 career starts at Bay Hill.
• Tommy Fleetwood (18-1) has finished fourth and seventh in his last two events.
• Xander Schauffele (22-1) earned his first top-10 finish of the season two weeks ago at the Genesis Invitational.
• Matt Fitzpatrick (25-1) has four top-10s at Bay Hill.
• Russell Henley (28-1) is the defending event champion and outdueled Collin Morikawa (31-1) by a shot here last year.
• Hideki Matsuyama (30-1), who was the runner-up in Phoenix three weeks ago, has one top 10 in 11 trips to Bay Hill.
• Kurt Kitayama (45-1), the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational champion, and 2016 winner Jason Day (60-1) are other former champions in this week’s field.
• Justin Thomas (66-1) makes his 2026 season debut this week after offseason back surgery
• Sungjae Im (150-1) makes his 2026 debut following wrist surgery.

LONG SHOTS GOLF PODCAST

RBROWNBETS: Taking SMU (-122) on the moneyline against No. 22 Miami (Fla.) tonight. In situations where an unranked home team is playing a ranked opponent, the home team is 14-8 against the spread this season. SMU is -1.5, but we're going with the moneyline so any SMU victory will cash.

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