Puttering Around: Arnold Palmer Invitational Preview

 Can you believe they named an entire PGA invitational after a drink? I bet nobody’s made that joke before. I’ll be here all week, folks.



This week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational is upon us! After Collin Morikawa’s statement win at The Concession last week, many contenders will try to pick up a win at Orlando’s scenic Bay Hill Club. (New rule for golf writing: ALWAYS use the word scenic. Never fails) I’ll be trying my hand at making some picks this week! The one catch? Only one sentence explanations. So, whether my commentary is “OOSTHUIZEN” or some mumbo jumbo about the long fairways or fast greens, it’ll have to be summarized in a few words. (Or one of my trademark run-on-run-on-run-on… sentences)


Odds courtesy of Bovada. (It’s been my life dream to type the words “Odds courtesy of.” Take that, bucket list!


Marc Leishman 

To Win: 50-1

Top 5 Finish: 7-1

Top Australian: +225


Leishman has as good a history at the event as Arnold Palmer, with a 2017 victory and 2020 loss by a stroke at the API, compared to two second place finishes and a win for Palmer at the then Florida Citrus Invitational, making this perhaps my favorite long shot.


Tyrrell Hatton To Win: 16-1


This is my first one of these prediction columns - my ultimate goal is to NOT look like an idiot and fail to predict that last year’s winner could come back to Bay Hill and win again.



Max Homa Top American: 20-1


Homa won the Genesis a couple weeks ago, and may be able to take advantage of group of American competitors as sparse as the line at the ice cream store for the PB&J flavor, with heavyweights like Morikawa and Dustin Johnson out of the lineup for the USA.


Viktor Hovland Top Oklahoma State Player: +110


Hovland is playing superb golf, while the other former Cowboys like Ricke Fowler and Talor Gooch don’t intimidate me, despite the latter sounding like one of the meaner creatures from Monsters Inc. 


Bryson DeChambeau to beat Rory McIlroy: +100


Rory is being overrated by virtue of the absence of top players, and I’ll take my chances with decent odds on Bryson, whose play I liked last week


Jason Day To Beat Paul Casey In Round 1: +100


Day has won this tournament before, and comes off consecutive T20s, a formula I’ll always accept, even against a 43 year old Paul Casey continuing to piece together Top 10s, challenging Father Time again, shortly after Mr. Time suffered his first defeat ever at the hands of Tom Brady.


Louis Oosthuizen To Win: 40-1 (but it could be -90000 and you’d still have to bet it)


OOOOOOOOSTHUIZEN

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