A lot of the heavy hitters on the PGA Tour took last week off because they were preparing to hit the course this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Jon Rahm is back in the field, which of course, makes him the favorite. But Rahm is just one of 44 of the OWGR Top-50 that will be playing this week, as well as all 14 winners this season.
And for the first time in 2023, weather will play an important role in Arnold Palmer. Forecasters are calling for high winds all four days, with some gusts as high as 40mph.
Favorites to Win Arnold Palmer Invitational
Jon Rahm (+600)
Scottie Scheffler (+850)
Rory McIlroy (+900)
Max Homa (+1600)
Viktor Hovland (+1800)
Will Zalatoris (+1800)
Collin Morikawa (+2000)
Patrick Cantlay (+2000)
Justin Thomas (+2000)
Tony Finau (+2200)
Xander Schauffele (+2200)
Rahm already has three wins this season, including the last time he played two weeks ago. His run right now is Tiger-esque, and there is no safer bet in sports than on Rahm to be in the mix for a title at Arnold Palmer. He wasn’t great on this course last year, but that doesn’t matter when looking at this year’s odds. He is the best golfer on the planet.
Scottie Scheffler has a win at the Phoenix Open and three other top-10s this year. He was also the winner at Bay Hill last year. Rory McIlroy was the winner here in 2018, and he’s been in the top-15 in seven of his eight career starts here.
After those big three, there is a bit of a drop down to the next group of contenders, led by Max Homa. He has two wins this season, including the Farmers Insurance Open a month ago. He was also the runner-up two weeks ago at Riviera. He was top-10 on this course in 2021.
Viktor Hovland was the runner-up on this course a year ago, and Will Zalatoris has a top-10 finish in two career starts at the Arnold Palmer.
Best Value Bets
With so many great golfers in the field it’s harder to find a longshot who might rise to the top of the leaderboard. But one possibility this weekend is Keith Mitchell at +4000. He has a T6 and T5 at the Arnold Palmer. He’s also coming off a fifth-place finish two weeks ago at Riviera.
Sam Burns is also paying +4000, and this year he has a T11 at the American Express and a T6 at the Phoenix Open. He was T9 at this event a year ago in spite of shooting a 75 in the third round. Clear that up, and he could be a contender.
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