The Players Championship might be just a week away, but the PGA Tour’s elite aren’t looking ahead just yet. Rather, they’re focused on paying respect to the man who many still considered the model for what it means to a tour professional. The Arnold Palmer Invitational celebrates the life and legacy of its namesake. Almost nine years since his passing, Palmer remains a revered figure in the game, and the tournament played at the course he designed, Bay Hill Club in Orlando, has its own special feeling, beyond merely the fact it’s now one of the tour’s signature events.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is back to defend his title. His five-shot victory over Wyndham Clark a year ago was the largest in the API since Tiger Woods in 2012. It also was the start of a impressive 2024 for Scheffler, with a repeat win at the Players Championship soon to follow, then a second Masters triumph in three years. By the end of 2024, Scheffler had grabbed seven tour titles, plus a gold medal, earned $29,228,357 in prize money, plus an extra $25 million for winning the FedEx Cup. He was No. 1 last year at Bay Hill in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green.
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Joining Scheffler in this week’s field are the next seven pros off the OWGR rankings: Xander Schauffele to Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Åberg, Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama, Wyndham Clark and Justin Thomas. Schauffele’s presence is the most notable, as he has yet to play since the season-opening Sentry event due to a rib injury.
This week’s winner will receive a $4 million cut of the $20 million purse and 700 FedEx Cup points.
false Private Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge: Challenger/Champion Orlando, FL 4 22 Panelists
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From Golf Digest Architecture Editor emeritus Ron Whitten:
I’ve always been fascinated by the design of Bay Hill, Arnold Palmer’s home course for over 45 years (although Tiger Woods owns it, competitively-speaking, as he’s won there eight times.) For one thing, it’s rather hilly, a rarity in Florida (although not in the Orlando market) and dotted with sinkhole ponds incorporated in the design in dramatic ways.
I always thought the wrap-around-a-lake par-5 sixth was Dick Wilson’s version of Robert Trent Jones’s decade-older 13th at The Dunes Club at Myrtle Beach. Each of the two rivals had claimed the other was always stealing his ideas. But the hole I like best at Bay Hill is the par-4 eighth, a lovely dogleg-right with a diagonal green perched above a small circular pond. OK, I admit that it reminds me of the sixth at Hazeltine National, another Trent Jones product, but I don’t think Wilson picked Trent’s pocket on this one, as both courses were built about the same time, in the early 1960s.
For our complete review, visit Bay Hill’s Places to Play page here.
View Course TV Schedule
Golf Channel and the NBC Sports App will carry live coverage on Thursday and Friday from 2-6 p.m. ET. On Saturday and Sunday, Golf Channel and the NBC Sports App will air coverage from 12-2:30 p.m. with NBC and Peacock taking over from 2:30-6 p.m.
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Streaming Schedule
PGA Tour Live streaming coverage will occur on ESPN+ from 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. from Thursday to Sunday.
Leaderboard
Find all live PGA Tour scoring data here.
Tee Times (All times ET) FIRST ROUND/THURSDAY
First hole
7:40 a.m. — Brian Campbell, Jacob Bridgeman
7:50 a.m. — Tom Kim, Min Woo Lee
8 a.m. — J.J. Spaun, Aldrich Potgieter
8:10 a.m. — Aaron Rai, Sungjae Im
8:20 a.m. — Max Homa, Adam Hadwin
8:30 a.m. — Taylor Pendrith, Sahith Theegala
8:40 a.m. — Billy Horschel, Jason Day
8:50 a.m. — Tommy Fleetwood, Cameron Young
9:05 a.m. — Akshay Bhatia, Matthieu Pavon
9:15 a.m. — Davis Thompson, Eric Cole
9:25 a.m. — Austin Eckroat, Byeong Hun An
9:35 a.m. — Cam Davis, Si Woo Kim
9:45 a.m. — Ludvig Åberg, Scottie Scheffler
9:55 a.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Viktor Hovland
10:05 a.m. — Keegan Bradley, Collin Morikawa
10:20 a.m. — Andrew Novak, Max McGreevy
10:30 a.m. — Daniel Berger, Ben Griffin
10:40 a.m. — Lucas Glover, Michael Kim
10:50 a.m. — Isaiah Salinda, Jackson Koivun (a)
11 a.m. — Maverick McNealy, Mackenzie Hughes
11:10 a.m. — Nick Taylor, Sam Stevens
11:20 a.m. — J.T. Poston, Brian Harman
11:35 a.m. — Thomas Detry, Adam Scott
11:45 a.m. — Robert MacIntyre, Matt Fitzpatrick
11:55 a.m. — Denny McCarthy, Max Greyserman
12:05 p.m. — Stephan Jaeger, Corey Conners
12:15 p.m. — Nick Dunlap, Will Zalatoris
12:25 p.m. — Chris Kirk, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
12:35 p.m. — Sepp Straka, Tony Finau
12:50 p.m. — Russell Henley, Tom Hoge
1 p.m. — Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry
1:10 p.m. — Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas
1:20 p.m. — Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns
1:30 p.m. — Joe Highsmith, Patrick Cantlay
1:40 p.m. — Justin Rose, Patrick Rodgers
1:50 p.m. — Harris English, Rafael Campos
SECOND ROUND/FRIDAY
First hole
7:40 a.m. — Isaiah Salinda, Jackson Koivun (a)
7:50 a.m. — Maverick McNealy, Mackenzie Hughes
8 a.m. — Nick Taylor, Sam Stevens
8:10 a.m. — J.T. Poston, Brian Harman
8:20 a.m. — Thomas Detry, Adam Scott
8:30 a.m. — Robert MacIntyre, Matt Fitzpatrick
8:40 a.m. — Denny McCarthy, Max Greyserman
8:50 a.m. — Stephan Jaeger, Corey Conners
9:05 a.m. — Nick Dunlap, Will Zalatoris
9:15 a.m. — Chris Kirk, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
9:25 a.m. — Sepp Straka, Tony Finau
9:35 a.m. — Russell Henley, Tom Hoge
9:45 a.m. — Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry
9:55 a.m. — Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas
10:05 a.m. — Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns
10:20 a.m. — Joe Highsmith, Patrick Cantlay
10:30 a.m. — Justin Rose, Patrick Rodgers
10:40 a.m. — Harris English, Rafael Campos
10:50 a.m. — Brian Campbell, Jacob Bridgeman
11 a.m. — Tom Kim, Min Woo Lee
11:10 a.m. — J.J. Spaun, Aldrich Potgieter
11:20 a.m. — Aaron Rai, Sungjae Im
11:35 a.m. — Max Homa, Adam Hadwin
11:45 a.m. — Taylor Pendrith, Sahith Theegala
11:55 a.m. — Billy Horschel, Jason Day
12:05 p.m. — Tommy Fleetwood, Cameron Young
12:15 p.m. — Akshay Bhatia, Matthieu Pavon
12:25 p.m. — Davis Thompson, Eric Cole
12:35 p.m. — Austin Eckroat, Byeong Hun An
12:50 p.m. — Cam Davis, Si Woo Kim
1 p.m. — Ludvig Åberg, Scottie Scheffler
1:10 p.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Viktor Hovland
1:20 p.m. — Keegan Bradley, Collin Morikawa
1:30 p.m. — Andrew Novak, Max McGreevy
1:40 p.m. — Daniel Berger, Ben Griffin
1:50 p.m. — Lucas Glover, Michael Kim
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
