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The Florida Swing continues at Bay Hill where those who play boldly, like the great Mr. Palmer would, can be rewarded handsomely. The spoils at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard have skewed to those not native to the U.S. and a strong International presence once again returns to Orlando.
RELATED: Full tee times
But while the likes of defending champion Tyrrell Hatton and former
champions Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Francesco Molinari and Marc Leishman
are once again ready to rumble, there is a raft of homegrown heroes
looking to be the first American winner since Matt Every won
back-to-back in 2014 and 2015.
Will Bryson DeChambeau take on the
par-5 sixth hole from the tee like John Daly did so many years ago? Will
Jordan Spieth’s resurgence continue? Will it be recent winners Patrick
Reed and Max Homa flying the American flag highest?
There are so
many great storylines amongst the stars featured on PGA TOUR LIVE, which will offer early-round coverage of the featured groups. To get you ready
for LIVE’s coverage, we convened our experts for a roundtable
discussion on each group. Enjoy.
HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET)
Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC)
PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Featured Groups); 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes)
Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).
TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast.
TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete.
FEATURED GROUPS
THURSDAY
Tyrrell Hatton, Francesco Molinari, Rory McIlroy
Arnold Palmer once said, “You must play boldly to win”. All three of these players had bold moments on the way to winning at Bay Hill – a course designed with a risk-reward mentality. The question here is two-fold. What is your favorite API moment AND what is your favorite memory or story of the great Mr. Palmer himself?
CAMERON MORFIT: Having just sorted through many bold moments, I’ll go a bit against the grain and say Matt Every winning his first of two in 2014. He was so beside himself with joy and shock he could barely comprehend what he’d done. My favorite memory of Mr. Palmer is him signing a visor for my grandmother at the Senior Players in Dearborn, Michigan.
ROB BOLTON: I tend not to play favorites but Robert Gamez’ walk-off eagle-2 in 1990 stands out because it was so cool at a time when I started paying close attention to the PGA TOUR. En route to Rookie of the Year honors, he was the David to Greg Norman’s Goliath. It’s also why we watch. And since, it’s been referenced ad nauseam as what’s possible at the conclusion of regulation. A few years later, while covering a senior event outside Chicago, I approached Mr. Palmer on the range. He was alone hitting balls with a small crowd looking on. My grandfather, who introduced me to golf as a child, was standing outside the ropes nearby. When Palmer went to change clubs, I approached him for an autograph on my grandfather’s copy of “My Game and Yours,” one of Palmer’s books of the early 1960s. A very large security guard intervened but Palmer pushed him aside to sign the book. As he did, I looked over at my grandfather. I’d never seen him smile so broadly. Palmer shook my hand, asked for my grandfather’s name, waved at him and said, “Hi, Frank.” It’s the only time I’ve ever and would ever exploit media access for a personal reason, and I’ve never regretted it. It’s the best gift I gave to my grandfather after he gave me so much. The autographed copy of the book was a bonus.
BEN EVERILL: Wow. Awesome story Rob! For me… I just feel lucky to have met Mr. Palmer. Those brief few encounters professionally are special. I’m also partial to his driver off the deck on Bay Hill’s 18th in his last competitive round in the tournament. That was epic.
As for the API, (you had to mention another of the daggers in the Shark’s back didn’t you Rob…) I can’t go past the Australian double that saw Jason Day win in 2016 and Marc Leishman win in 2017. The Day win wasn’t surprising at the time – it was when he was no.1 in the world and part of a run where he won seven tournaments in 17 starts. The Leishman win was awesome – seeing his wife Audrey and his kids celebrate on the green with him was personally gratifying for me. Way back in 2012 Leishman told me in an interview that he thought the best chances for him to win on TOUR were at Bay Hill and Torrey Pines. To see both happen since is incredibly cool.
Jordan Spieth, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose
Here’s one a little out of the box. Imagine you can wake up tomorrow with only one of these skills – Jordan Spieth’s peak putting or Bryson DeChambeau’s dominant distance. Which are you taking and why? Are you driving for show or putting for dough?
CAMERON MORFIT: I’d take Spieth on the greens. Bryson has been showing cracks; the limitations of swinging from the heels on every hole become fairly evident when you’re always looking for your ball.
ROB BOLTON: Depends on the course but distance > putting in the long-term. The statistics support it. Shorter irons in. Closer to the hole. I’m gonna sink some of those putts. You also can’t teach distance.
BEN EVERILL: Yeah I got to go with Cam here. Having a brilliant putting game would alleviate pressure in almost all weekend warrior rounds and allow a long life of fun competition against mates and members. As I get older I can always move up tees, but the greens will always be there in the same state. (Just once it would be nice to nut an unassisted 400-yard drive though!)
FRIDAY
Patrick Reed, Max Homa, Billy Horschel
Billy Horschel went close to his first individual title since May 2017 last week at the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship. He picked up 218 FedExCup points for his T2 and moved to 35th in the standings. Will the 2014 FedExCup champion be at East Lake for a shot at the title this season?
CAMERON MORFIT: If past is prologue, yes. Horschel tends to stay hot a while when he starts feeling it, so I expect solid play through the Florida swing at least.
ROB BOLTON: Absolutely. If anything, the Playoffs were constructed with him in mind. However, even if he qualifies for the TOUR Championship, if he limps in no matter his starting position at East Lake, all bets are off. He’s predictable like that. See 2020.
BEN EVERILL: I have a feeling about two-thirds of the players who will make it to East Lake might already be inside the top 30 or near it. If my gut says that 10 players currently inside the mark are vulnerable and I’m looking for 10 to replace them – is Horschel going to be one of those? Like Cameron I expect he will play well over the next month or so at least so I’m going to say yes – he will be there and therefore he will have a shot at being a two-time champion.
Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Viktor Hovland
Jason Day has 12 TOUR wins that include a PLAYERS, a major, two WGC’s, two FedExCup Playoffs and this Invitational. Rickie Fowler has five TOUR wins including a PLAYERS and a FedExCup Playoff. Where do you see Viktor Hovland’s career stacking up against these two – and more briefly – what is still to come from Day and Fowler?
CAMERON MORFIT: Hovland is on track to surpass them both. I love his resilience in bouncing back from that hideous quad at The Concession, and his attitude as he hung around for a half hour to answer questions about it. I suspect Day and Fowler have peaked. Their CVs are great, especially Day’s; that said, it just gets harder as time goes by. Day hasn’t looked like his 2015 self in quite a while, and back problems are an ongoing concern. Fowler has more potential to get it back because he’s healthier and younger, but he seems stuck in neutral.
ROB BOLTON: Whew. This is a heavy question so early in Hovland’s career, but he’s earned the comparisons. Just six months ago, I wouldn’t have thought it, but I agree with Cam’s assessment. Hovland’s trajectory is stronger, but we’ll know so much more about him when he faces adversity. To that end, he reminds me of Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele, both of whom you also could argue are on track to surpass Day and Fowler. Also agree with Cam that Day has peaked, but primarily as it concerns being a family man. Sure, he’ll be energized to chase the majors and other tentpole stops, but his good life has a balance that he deserves. On the flipside, if Fowler becomes a father, I’ll be antsy to observe how that affects his performance, particularly if he’s still short a major at the time.
BEN EVERILL: Hovland is the real deal there’s no doubt about that. The infectious smile and the resilience that Cameron points out are great attributes. His game is mint. And perhaps most importantly he’s shown the ability to make a 72nd hole putt to win it all. I’m comfortable saying he will build a resume more robust than Fowler’s, but not yet will I say he will best Day’s career. Speaking of Day – I’ll go against my mates above here and say there is a second act to come if his body and mind allow it. I believe he will at least have one more 18–24-month period of scintillating golf where his legacy grows even further. Fowler – he will certainly win a few more times – and I think he could easily be a mirror of players like Henrik Stenson and Sergio Garcia, grabbing a major late in his career.
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Source: PGA tour
