The PGA Tour returns to the famed Bay Hill Golf Club in Florida for the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a course that has been kind to Tiger Woods and Australian golfers through the years.
While 15-time Major winner Woods is sidelined indefinitely, seven Australians are in the field at Bay Hill.
Among them are several strong contenders to add to Australia’s success at Palmer’s event. 2016 Palmer champion withdrew on Wednesday due to personal reasons, but 2017 Bay Hill winner Leishman is our top bet this week.
Here are the bets we like at the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Marc Leishman $34 (according to BlueBet.com.au)
A combination of recent form – Leishman owns three top 20s in 2020 including a T15 at Riviera – as well as good vibes at Bay Hill make the Australian a top bet this week. The Warrnambool native returns to the site of his 2017 Arnold Palmer victory while he also finished second in 2020, which is among his six top-25s in 12 starts at the Orlando course
Jason Kokrak $29
There’s one stat that makes the big-hitting Kokrak a good option (besides his driving): since 2014, Kokrak has four top-10s among six top 20s at Bay Hill. Enough said.
Tyrrell Hatton $34
Hatton is the 2020 winner who is playing his first PGA Tour event since November. While playing in Europe to begin 2022, the Englishman had two top-six finishes in the Middle East.
Dark horse: Matthew Fitzpatrick $26
Like his countryman Hatton, ‘Fitz’ is a sneaky dark horse at Bay Hill. Since 2019, he has finished second and recorded two other top-10s at Bay Hill. Fitz is also in form having posted two top-10s on the West Coast swing of the PGA Tour.
Top Aussie: Leishman (see above)
First round Aussie tee times (AEDT)
Lucas Herbert 11.43pm (Thursday)
Cam Davis 12.16am (Friday)
Adam Scott 12.27am
Matt Jones 4.24am
Marc Leishman 4.46am
Min Woo Lee 5.19am
