Tiger Woods takes on the field at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
For those of you wondering about the name of this week’s tournament, the Arnold Palmer Invitational is named for the owner of the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on which the tournament is played. But where, per say, does a man get enough money to buy a golf club? He invents a drink consisting of half iced tea and half lemonade. Yes, he also won 62 events on the PGA tour including seven majors and is considered one of the greatest golfers of all time (too bad fantasy golf didn’t exist when he was playing), but now we’re getting into the nitty-gritty. So this weekend as you enjoy the first weekend make sure you take the time to pour your self a nice glass of Arnold Palmer Ice Tea and say, “Here’s to you Arnie.”
Tournament: Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard
Date: March 24th to the 27th
Location: Bay Hill Club and Lodge, Orlando, Florida
Defending Champion: Ernie Els (-11)
About the course: While the Bay Hill course is regarded as one of the best courses in the States, the course was also the forth hardest on the tour in 2009. Granted, after the renovations to the course following the 2009 event, Ernie Els managed to shoot the lowest aggregate score on the course since Rod Pampling in 2006. The even is one of only five “invitational” events on the tour. As an invitational, there will be a reduced field of approximately 120 golfers participating over the weekend.
Golfers to watch: This course gives people a chance to take a chance, and if there’s a chance, Bubba Watson is going to take that chance. The last time we saw Dustin Johnson, he was shooting his worst round of the WGC to choke up the win on Sunday. Looking at his scorecard, that’s more because he got conservative than actually choked. This time he won’t make the same mistake. Chris Couch continues to finish close, coming in 5th at the Transitions, and he finished 4th at the Palmer Invitational last year, so there is reason to believe he should be on your fantasy golf team this weekend. Martin Laird hasn’t finished outside the top 25 in a stoke play tournament in the last two months. No reason he’d start now. Justin Rose looked so good when he shot back-to-back 65s on Friday and Saturday, only to blow the transition into Sunday with a 74. Still, he only has one finish outside the top 25 this year so he should continue to put up solid numbers. Hunter Mahan hasn’t missed a cut this year, and has four top 10 finishes to boot, definitely worth a roster spot. On the flip side, there is Tiger Woods. If you look at his recent success, you’ll see he’s won the Arnold Palmer Invitational twice in the last three year (and six wins on the course overall), but the course was renovated after his 2009 win, and he is anything but a sure thing. Woods is officially in Missouri – SHOW ME!
Looking for a weekly fantasy golf experience? Our friends at Fantazzle have just what you need. The Arnold Palmer Invitational is set to tee off March 24th, so check out Fantazzle’s Fantasy Golf Challenge before the boys tee it up on Thursday.