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There's just something special about Bay Hill, especially since it reminds us of Arnie! The 2023 version of the API will tee off on Thursday, March 2. Scottie Scheffler won this premiere event last year, and he'll be looking to defend his title against 119 other golfers.
Scheffler is currently listed at +1000 odds to pull off the repeat. Jon Rahm is the betting favorite, and FanDuel is offering the best price on him at +700. Also, don't sleep on Rory McIlroy, who's currently +900 at DraftKings.
Here are 8 bets we love for the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Several of these are at nice plus-money prices, so we're looking for a nice payday come Sunday. Best of luck with all of your selections!
Billy finished in 2nd last year at the Arnie Palmer Invitational, while Alex Noren did not compete. This was the best finish at the event in Billy’s career.
While Noren has a missed cut, a 49th and 36th finish over the last 3 years, he made a start here. Horschel fired off a -5 round to start the Honda Classic last week but finished in 42nd when all was said and done.
Noren has not competed since the Genesis Invitational and has missed the cut in back-to-back events. We like Billy’s course history and recent form here against Noren, who has been struggling to figure things out.
Sungjae Im had his worst finish over the last 5 years here in 2021. The good news is that was a 21st-place finish. Last year he came in 20th and has two other finishes during that stretch in which he finished 3rd.
Tony Finau has only competed here once in the last 5 years, and that was in 2020 when he missed the cut. Tony has been playing solid golf this season. He did not participate last week but does have top-20 finishes in all 5 events this year.
Im has had a couple of weaker finishes over his last 2 events but does have a 6th place finish at the WM Open and a top 5 in the Farmers Insurance Open. Im’s familiarity with the event and Tony’s lack thereof will benefit Im in this matchup.
Keegan has had recent finishes of 20th, and 2nd over his last 2 starts this season. Conners has finished 61st and 50th in his last 2 outings.
Here at the Palmer Invitational, Keegan has made the cut in all 5 of his previous starts and finished 11th last year after finishing 10th the year prior. Conners has had success as well over the last 2 years here, with an 11th-place finish last year after finishing 3rd the year prior.
However, he missed the cut in both 2019 and 2020. We are backing Bradley’s consistency here in this matchup. This number should be closer to -150!
Despite an 81st finish at the Genesis, Hossler has finishes of 14th at the WM Open and 11th at Pebble Beach. Beau has made 2 starts here over the last 3 years. In those starts, he finished 24th in 2020 and 20th last season.
We expect him to continue to play solid here at the Arnie Invitational, and a Top 40 should be achievable. The nice price at BetRivers makes this play even sweeter.
Harris had a rough time last week as he finished his tourney on Friday when he missed the cut. He did, however, grab a 12th-place finish the week prior. Harris did not participate last season but did participate in the 3 previous ones.
His finishes in those? He finished inside the Top 30 three times, and his other was 68th in 2019. He has the tools to make the cut and finish inside the Top 40 here for us.
Hatton has played in only 2 events this year, but both saw him finish inside the top 40. His 6th place finish at the WM Open was the better of the 2.
Hatton’s success here is nearly unmatched over the past 4 years. He finished 29th in 2019 and 21st in 2021.
His other 2 starts were a runner-up finish last year and an outright win in 2020. His track record is the main reason we are playing him here inside the Top 30.
What a week Kirk had last week, winning the Honda Classic. He played some incredibly consistent golf all week and got the job down on Sunday.
His hiccup at the WM Open aside, Kirk has added two other 3rd place finishes this season as he seems to be hitting his stride on Tour. Oh, and his last 4 starts here have been no worse than the 15th!
We could not love this spot anymore for Kirk. It is our favorite play of the week. The plus money price is a gift.
Fitzy had a great start to this year with a 13th-place finish at the Hero World Challenge prior to his 7th-place finish at the Sentry. Recently, he missed the cut at the Genesis, but his track record at the Palmer Invitational can not be overlooked.
Fitzy has finished in the Top 10 in his 4 previous starts here at the Arnie Invitational. We believe his ability to turn it on here year after year will make the value of 1.5:1 more than worth the risk.
Bill Christy is a seasoned bettor who operates his own handicapping business. As a senior writer, Bill provides in-depth analysis and identifies edges across several sports at EatWatchBet, including the NFL, CFB, NBA, CBB, and UFC. Follow Bill on Twitter @LarrysLocks2.
21+ to wager. Please Gamble Responsibly. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (KS, NV), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI). Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Call 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY) Call 1-800-327-5050 (MA).