PGA First Look: Arnold Palmer Invitational

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2018-03-15 11:57:34

The PGA First Look is complete with a course preview, odds, salaries, Official World Golf Rankings, and course history.

Click here to follow Notorious on Twitter.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Click here to learn how you could win a trip to Augusta with the Tour Junkies and FantasyDraft!

Event Preview

How great was it to have Tiger Woods in contention on a Sunday? There hasn’t been that much buzz in a non-major for many years. In the end he fell just short, as Paul Casey put together an amazing final round to finish one clear of both Woods and Patrick Reed. Tiger is back on the prowl this week for the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which is a tournament that he has won eight times in his career. This is a strange event in that the field at the top is stacked, but the bottom half of the field isn’t quite as strong. The tournament will be held at Arnie’s place, otherwise known as Bay Hill.

The course is a challenging Par 72 that measures 7,419 yards. The par fives are score-able, but the par threes and fours are some of the toughest that the golfers will see all season. The fairways were widened and lengthened in 2015, but that doesn’t mean that this is a course where bombers have the complete edge. Water is in play on eight of the 18 holes and the fairway bunkers extend far enough out that you can’t just let it rip unless you are accurate. The rough here can measure up to four inches, which is some of the longest that golfers will see all year.

The fairways and greens are both made of Bermudagrass. The greens are firm and fast (can run up to 12 on the stimpmeter) and surrounded by bunkers and run-off areas. If the wind picks up, golfers will need a creative short game to avoid making bogeys. Given the length of the course, we will see plenty of long iron shots hit into these greens. We’ve seen good iron players succeed here year after year. In addition to iron play, I’m looking for good total drivers of the golf ball. Focusing on ball striking certainly isn’t a bad idea when it comes to DFS. Golfers will need to take advantage of the par fives and it doesn’t hurt to putt well on Bermuda (or at least have a strong track record in Florida).

Cut Rule: Top 70 and ties move on after the first two rounds. The MDF rule is in effect if more than 78 golfers make the initial cut.

Recent Winners of this Event: Marc Leishman (2017), Jason Day (2016), Matt Every (2015 & 2014), Tiger Woods (2013)

Key Statistics (In Order of Importance)

1) Strokes Gained Approach
2) Strokes Gained Off the Tee
3) Birdie or Better %
4) Par 5 Scoring
5) Strokes Gained Putting (Emphasis on Bermuda)

Hole by Hole Breakdown

Salaries, Odds, and Course History (2013-2017)

Golfer	DK Salary	FD Salary	FDRFT Salary	OWGR	Odds	DK Odds	FD Odds	FDRFT Odds	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013
Jason Day	$11,800	$12,500	$17,200	10	12	-100%	-100%	-100%	23	1	17	500	45
Justin Rose	$11,500	$12,200	$16,700	5	14	-50%	-50%	0%	13	9	500	94	2
Rory McIlroy	$10,700	$11,500	$16,200	13	18	-33%	43%	0%	4	27	11	500	500
Rickie Fowler	$10,300	$11,800	$15,800	7	20	-50%	-50%	0%	12	500	29	86	3
Tiger Woods	$10,000	$11,900	$17,000	149	6	80%	67%	50%	500	500	500	500	1
Hideki Matsuyama	$9,700	$11,400	$15,700	6	23	-33%	0%	-14%	45	6	21	500	500
Tommy Fleetwood	$9,500	$11,700	$15,900	11	20	29%	17%	0%	10	500	500	500	500
Alexander Noren	$9,200	$11,800	$15,500	17	26	-13%	-125%	0%	49	500	500	500	500
Henrik Stenson	$9,100	$11,200	$15,300	15	27	-11%	-11%	9%	83	3	2	5	8
Tyrrell Hatton	$9,000	$10,600	$15,600	14	23	30%	46%	13%	4	500	500	500	500
Patrick Reed	$8,900	$10,700	$14,700	23	33	-9%	0%	20%	500	500	500	52	102
Adam Scott	$8,700	$11,100	$15,100	56	34	-8%	-30%	-8%	500	12	35	3	500
Bubba Watson	$8,600	$10,400	$15,400	38	31	15%	35%	-10%	34	500	500	500	14
Brian Harman	$8,500	$10,600	$15,000	22	38	0%	-8%	-8%	13	17	106	77	77
Marc Leishman	$8,400	$10,800	$14,800	16	39	0%	-36%	-7%	1	17	79	31	90
Brandt Snedeker	$8,300	$10,500	$14,300	72	48	0%	0%	0%	28	36	13	8	114
Louis Oosthuizen	$8,200	$10,600	$14,300	29	50	0%	-31%	-6%	28	500	9	500	500
Luke List	$8,100	$9,200	$14,200	69	51	-6%	42%	-6%	17	500	500	500	500
Jason Kokrak	$8,000	$9,500	$14,200	108	52	-5%	23%	-11%	56	20	6	4	500
Jamie Lovemark	$8,000	$9,700	$14,100	92	59	-26%	-9%	-20%	23	6	500	500	500
Kiradech Aphibarnrat	$7,900	$9,700	$14,100	31	51	14%	18%	10%	500	6	6	500	500
Cameron Smith	$7,800	$9,300	$13,900	50	61	-14%	17%	-4%	34	500	500	500	500
Jimmy Walker	$7,800	$8,900	$13,500	85	77	-36%	35%	0%	500	500	500	500	8
Zach Johnson	$7,700	$10,200	$14,000	59	59	8%	-22%	0%	66	5	9	43	34
Byeong-Hun An	$7,700	$9,100	$13,600	88	72	-21%	24%	0%	49	36	500	500	500
Scott Stallings	$7,700	$8,900	$12,600	134	101	-92%	0%	-2%	500	500	112	96	77
Ryan Moore	$7,700	$9,500	$13,400	73	81	-42%	-31%	-10%	34	74	500	60	102
Emiliano Grillo	$7,600	$9,000	$14,000	76	58	25%	49%	5%	7	17	500	500	500
Russell Knox	$7,600	$9,400	$13,400	98	80	-14%	-14%	-3%	500	500	29	43	500
James Hahn	$7,600	$9,100	$13,100	60	82	-25%	8%	3%	49	77	500	500	77
Martin Laird	$7,600	$9,000	$13,000	106	91	-43%	2%	-5%	49	43	43	76	34
Charles Howell	$7,500	$9,200	$13,000	66	90	-22%	-18%	-3%	56	46	21	35	45
Scott Piercy	$7,500	$9,600	$12,700	122	96	-38%	-83%	-5%	500	500	500	500	129
Lucas Glover	$7,500	$8,300	$12,700	101	95	-34%	39%	-2%	7	27	106	14	90
Shane Lowry	$7,500	$8,800	$12,100	75	137	-75%	-12%	-4%	500	500	89	500	500
Matthew Fitzpatrick	$7,400	$9,300	$13,300	33	79	14%	-3%	6%	13	27	500	103	500
Ollie Schniederjans	$7,400	$9,200	$12,800	81	94	-14%	-24%	0%	34	500	500	500	500
Chris Kirk	$7,400	$8,700	$12,400	164	121	-36%	6%	-2%	96	12	93	60	16
Ian Poulter	$7,400	$8,600	$12,000	63	140	-61%	-2%	-2%	41	46	21	20	21
William McGirt	$7,400	$9,100	$12,300	116	121	-33%	-26%	2%	73	73	59	110	8
Graeme McDowell	$7,400	$8,700	$11,900	214	148	-64%	-13%	0%	28	95	79	10	45
Kevin Chappell	$7,300	$10,000	$13,900	37	59	45%	-21%	4%	49	2	102	14	110
Francesco Molinari	$7,300	$9,900	$13,800	25	63	36%	-35%	-4%	7	9	17	5	34
Keegan Bradley	$7,300	$9,200	$13,100	68	80	21%	0%	8%	34	36	49	2	3
Patton Kizzire	$7,300	$9,400	$13,300	51	82	14%	-29%	-9%	91	500	500	500	500
Charl Schwartzel	$7,300	$9,600	$12,900	52	94	2%	-71%	-3%	45	500	500	500	500
Stewart Cink	$7,300	$8,700	$11,700	144	168	-60%	-29%	0%	28	89	79	66	63
Beau Hossler	$7,300	$8,400	$11,900	210	151	-45%	9%	-3%	500	500	500	500	500
Patrick Rodgers	$7,300	$8,600	$12,100	158	133	-29%	5%	0%	116	20	500	500	500
Danny Willett	$7,300	$8,500	$11,000	245	268	-114%	-48%	-7%	500	500	29	500	500
Ben Martin	$7,200	$8,600	$12,000	207	135	-8%	4%	4%	41	12	5	77	500
Sam Burns	$7,200	$9,000	$13,200	304	84	25%	7%	-9%	500	500	500	500	500
Kyle Stanley	$7,200	$8,800	$12,600	55	96	12%	10%	0%	17	500	500	500	122
J.J. Spaun	$7,200	$7,900		133	188	-43%	10%		49	500	500	500	500
Peter Uihlein	$7,200	$8,400	$11,800	62	152	-24%	6%	2%	500	500	500	500	500
Matt Every	$7,200	$7,000	$11,300	781	212	-49%	30%	1%	62	77	1	1	34
Harris English	$7,200	$8,000	$11,800	230	157	-27%	18%	-2%	109	77	29	14	57
Hunter Mahan	$7,200	$7,800	$10,700	643	282	-82%	-12%	-2%	500	57	57	500	21
Vijay Singh	$7,200	$7,000	$11,100	491	259	-73%	19%	-9%	73	89	57	20	57
Charley Hoffman	$7,100	$9,200	$12,700	26	83	38%	-12%	12%	2	500	500	500	77
Kevin Na	$7,100	$8,900	$13,700	65	61	58%	46%	11%	73	500	6	14	500
Chesson Hadley	$7,100	$8,900	$12,200	74	124	15%	-11%	0%	500	500	67	26	500
Kevin Kisner	$7,100	$9,800	$13,800	36	63	53%	-33%	-8%	2	95	49	500	500
Kevin Streelman	$7,100	$8,500	$12,500	136	111	22%	23%	0%	70	108	67	500	21
Austin Cook	$7,100	$9,300	$12,300	113	121	17%	-67%	-2%	500	500	500	500	500
Vaughn Taylor	$7,100	$8,300	$11,600	247	187	-20%	-3%	-4%	23	77	500	500	21
Grayson Murray	$7,100	$8,500	$11,500	123	196	-25%	-23%	-4%	113	500	500	500	500
Camilo Villegas	$7,100	$7,200	$10,500	412	338	-63%	4%	-3%	83	55	21	20	16
Cody Gribble	$7,100	$7,000	$10,200	349	479	-78%	1%	-2%	91	500	500	500	500
J.B. Holmes	$7,000	$9,000	$12,200	90	126	24%	-29%	-4%	500	500	70	10	500
Bud Cauley	$7,000	$8,500	$11,900	127	151	13%	0%	-3%	96	500	500	500	114
Sean O’Hair	$7,000	$8,500	$11,900	124	153	9%	-5%	-8%	109	36	29	10	40
David Lingmerth	$7,000	$7,600	$11,000	165	235	-16%	8%	4%	72	63	13	52	50
Sam Horsfield	$7,000	$7,200	$11,200	385	235	-16%	21%	-3%	500	500	500	500	500
Sang-Moon Bae	$7,000	$7,800	$10,600	919	303	-36%	-14%	-1%	500	500	79	110	40
Mac Hughes	$7,000	$7,500	$10,200	179	494	-54%	-17%	-3%	96	500	500	500	500
Ernie Els	$7,000	$7,000	$10,300	649	447	-50%	3%	-4%	96	74	13	500	102
Robert Streb	$7,000	$7,300	$10,200	192	465	-51%	-7%	-1%	500	95	112	500	114
Smylie Kaufman	$7,000	$7,000	$10,000	293	779	-60%	-4%	0%	109	12	500	500	500
Davis Love	$7,000	$7,100	$10,200	734	559	-56%	-4%	-4%	500	500	500	500	500
Donny Lee	$7,000	$7,000	$10,500		1000	-69%	-9%	-24%	500	500	500	500	500
Sam Saunders	$6,900	$8,300	$12,100	194	137	32%	20%	-4%	73	95	29	43	500
Bryson DeChambeau	$6,900	$8,700	$12,200	95	124	38%	2%	0%	500	27	500	500	500
Hudson Swafford	$6,900	$8,400	$11,800	117	159	20%	1%	-3%	10	36	11	110	500
Hao-Tong Li	$6,900	$9,000	$11,900	40	151	27%	-46%	-2%	500	500	500	500	500
Aaron Wise	$6,900	$8,100	$11,400	199	303	-15%	-24%	-25%	500	500	500	500	500
Brandon Harkins	$6,900	$8,100	$11,500	209	190	10%	3%	-3%	500	500	500	500	500
Nick Taylor	$6,900	$7,500	$11,100	204	249	-4%	8%	-5%	500	500	35	500	500
Brian Gay	$6,900	$7,900	$11,100	150	241	-1%	-2%	-2%	500	500	500	113	90
Chris Stroud	$6,900	$7,700		171	245	-2%	1%		500	500	70	31	34
Sung Kang	$6,900	$7,700	$11,200	99	232	2%	6%	-1%	500	116	500	500	500
Luke Donald	$6,900	$8,200	$11,000	183	257	-6%	-18%	-4%	500	95	500	500	500
Brian Stuard	$6,900	$7,600	$10,500	224	383	-24%	-16%	-7%	91	500	79	60	16
Whee Kim	$6,900	$7,200	$10,300	142	381	-23%	1%	0%	500	500	500	500	500
Si Woo Kim	$6,800	$8,500	$11,600	53	186	25%	-16%	-3%	49	63	500	500	500
Billy Horschel	$6,800	$8,200	$11,600	84	181	27%	7%	0%	13	20	43	43	75
John Huh	$6,800	$8,300	$11,700	234	172	28%	3%	-1%	66	68	55	500	27
Anirban Lahiri	$6,800	$8,700	$11,500	80	182	26%	-35%	3%	96	500	500	500	500
Ryan Armour	$6,800	$8,000	$10,800	159	226	18%	1%	13%	500	500	500	500	500
Curtis Luck	$6,800	$7,500	$11,400	316	216	19%	16%	-3%	119	500	500	500	500
Scott Brown	$6,800	$7,700	$11,300	143	226	18%	8%	-1%	105	27	500	103	13
Alex Cejka	$6,800	$7,500	$10,700	219	276	3%	0%	-1%	500	500	500	500	500
Ted Potter	$6,800	$7,600	$11,000	79	256	9%	2%	-2%	500	500	500	500	125
Danny Lee	$6,800	$7,300	$10,100	153	818	-21%	-16%	-6%	17	95	17	31	500
A.J. McInerney	$6,800	$7,400	$10,000	868	794	-19%	-18%	-1%	500	500	500	500	500
Robert Gamez	$6,800	$7,000	$10,000		1294	-26%	-11%	-7%	118	118	119	113	122
Doc Redman	$6,800	$7,300	$10,100		576	-16%	-11%	-1%	500	500	500	500	500
Tom Hoge	$6,700	$7,400	$10,900	193	265	18%	7%	-1%	500	500	500	500	500
Kevin Tway	$6,700	$7,600	$10,500	216	350	8%	-13%	-4%	500	500	500	500	500
Talor Gooch	$6,700	$7,400	$10,400	217	371	7%	-4%	-1%	500	500	500	500	500
Satoshi Kodaira	$6,700	$8,600	$10,900	44	274	16%	-60%	-3%	500	500	500	500	500
Yuta Ikeda	$6,700	$8,100	$10,300	49	424	4%	-37%	-3%	500	500	500	500	500
Martin Piller	$6,700	$7,100	$10,300	236	406	5%	2%	-2%	500	500	500	500	500
Padraig Harrington	$6,700	$7,000	$10,700	185	306	11%	11%	-5%	500	500	49	67	500
Billy Hurley	$6,700	$7,000	$10,000	303	794	-5%	-5%	-1%	83	57	79	96	500
Stuart Appleby	$6,700	$7,000	$10,000	680	824	-7%	-7%	-4%	500	68	65	26	500
Collin Morikawa	$6,700	$7,100	$10,400		309	10%	8%	2%	500	500	500	500	500
Paul Goydos	$6,700	$7,000	$10,000		1000	-9%	-9%	-5%	500	500	500	108	500
D.A. Points	$6,700	$7,000	$10,100	319	618	-3%	-3%	-2%	500	500	17	86	77
Tim Herron	$6,700	$7,000	$10,000		895	-8%	-8%	-4%	62	113	99	86	77

Color Coding
Course history in BLUE indicates a top ten finish.
Course history in GREEN indicates a top 25 finish.
Course history in YELLOW indicates a made cut with a finish outside of the top 25.
Course history in RED indicates a missed cut.

Legend

Term	Description
Site Odds	The percentage differential between a golfer’s salary rank and odds rank. The higher the %, the better.
OWGR	Official World Golf Ranking
Cuts	Cut record of each golfer at this course in the last five seasons.
2013 – 2017 Columns	Course history at this event in the last five seasons.