By Friday, thatll be the sustained average for the prevailing push from the southwest, while gusts will reach 35 mph. It's the first time the tour has had three consecutive first-time winners since 2019. Shortest in odds and claiming top honor is Sungjae Im. Rose likes his new equipment, caddie and coach and is comfortable with the team around him again. Previous rank: 3 He finished in a tie for third at 15-under. Previous rank: 18 Ranks 2nd in High Winds, 11th in SG: OTT and 12th in SG: APP. 1 Rory McIlroy leads a WM Phoenix Open field that features 22 of the world's top 25 golfers. A string of solid performances at the Corales Puntacana that read 14th (2020), 22nd (2021) and runner-up last year, and a top-12 (2021) at the Bermuda Championship are signs that Smalley has a liking to these tropical locations. The greens can run fast if conditions allow. Cameron Young : The short game is still in shambles, but Young is showing signs of late with the elite ball striking that led him to Rookie of the Year in 2022. He briefly challenged Rahm on Sunday, and he was playing some of the best golf in the world to end his 2022. Like most courses they visit in the Sunshine State, it will present plenty of water hazards throughout, including the famous par-5 sixth hole that features a bold drive over however much water the player thinks he can cut off. He has two top-15 finishes in his past three starts, including a tie for 14th in Phoenix. 57 in the OWGR, moving him closer to the top 50 for an invitation to the Masters in April. Will likely be excited to get back on Bermuda. 18. It's probably only a matter of time before Burns starts heating up again, after a relatively quiet start to 2023. Morikawa showed a lot of backbone by finishing third at the Farmers Insurance Open, his first start after blowing a 6-shot lead in the final round of the Tournament of Champions. TPC Southwind boasts 94 bunkers and 10 water hazards, and usually ranks as a top-third difficult course. Since tying for second at the Shriners Children's Open in early October, he tied for 16th at the Tournament of Champions, tied for 26th at the American Express and missed the cut in Phoenix, where he lost in a playoff to Scheffler last season. Its officially a designated event in 2023, but you dont need to conceive a visual of the King himself winking, grinning and giving a thumbs-up to approve what we already know, that this tournament is special. Some of the top golfers on the PGA Tour have kick-started their careers with wins in Puerto Rico, including Tony Finau in 2016 and Viktor Hovland in 2019. It could get windy but doesnt look like it will be too out of control. Six were top-fives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. Scheffler had a round of 9-under 62 in the second round in Phoenix, which was his fifth career round of 62 or lower. The Honda Classic leads off a month of competitions in the Sunshine State. Its in a tough spot on the schedule with back-to-back designated events coming right before and another one to immediately follow at next weeks Arnold Palmer Invitational. Previous rank: 7 17. Rory McIlroy He tied for 45th at the Saudi International. pic.twitter.com/U4xDqJhNHs. Previous rank: 5 Ranks 22nd in High Winds. Detroit Golf Club is a shorter par-72, measuring 7,370 yards and is one of the easiest courses on the circuit. When it does, it could make a difference of 10-15 degrees cooler. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images) The Grateful Dead didn't release an album about 2020, but the band . (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images). Sungjae Im : Im not going to make the mistake of dismissing Sungjae this week because of a couple of mediocre results at Honda and Riviera. He carded a 7-under 64 in the third round of the WM Phoenix Open, his 15th such round of 64 or better since 2021. Just make sure to click here to create your new DraftKings account today. Brutally difficult conditions led to Scottie Scheffler persevering to win at 5-under last year. Rory McIlroy is not human. The California native has already won twice in his home state this season, picking up victories at the Fortinet Championship in Napa and Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. The 24-year-old has two-career DP World Tour wins at the 2020 ISPS Handa Vic Open and the 2021 abrdn Scottish Open. Previous rank: 11 Hes 4-for-5 in 2023. Rafael Campos The 34-year-old native of Puerto Rico hasnt been the same since an injured left elbow thwarted his only DNP in tournament history in 2020. Just because you know what to do doesnt make it an easy task. No one is exactly sure why, considering Im likes to play -- a lot. PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, and the Swinging Golfer design are registered trademarks. 17. But he missed the cut at the WM Phoenix Open after hitting consecutive shots into the water on No. FREE Picks Contest For the Arnold Palmer Invitational: Win An Amazon Gift Card Instantly! 1 Jon Rahm. Previous rank: 13 All four Par 3s, all four Par 5s and a few Par 4s will likely require a long iron this week at Bay Hill. Like the TV newscaster in the classic movie "Network," Hahn is mad as hell except he's mad as hell about the changes coming to the PGA Tour in 2024. Phil Allen of Twenty First Group noted that Matsuyama has 29 rounds in the 60s there -- the most since 2014 -- and 32 of his 33 rounds at the Phoenix Open have been par or better. How Arnold Palmers Bay Hill Club & Lodge will present itself, what Mother Nature has planned and more can be found below. Copyright 2023 PGA TOUR, Inc. All rights reserved. Brett White, who had to relearn how to walk and talk after battling a brain infection six years ago, made his PGA Tour debut. Scottie Scheffler Over his past six starts, Hoge finished tied for fourth, missed cut, solo second, missed cut, first and a tie for 14th. Plus, access replays, originals and more. A year ago, Kim was preparing for the Royal's Cup in Thailand on the Asian Tour. His PGA TOUR Horse for the Course for daily fantasy golf based on course history. Copyright 2023 PGA TOUR, Inc. All rights reserved. 20. Arnold Palmer Invitational 2023 odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook . PGATOUR.coms Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, Jordan Spieth and Hideki Matsuyama will be among the notables considered in Golfbet Insider. You may call them opposite events, but to the 120 in pursuit of a boatload of benefits, Puerto Rico is the island of opportunity. Here are the latest PGA Tour Power Rankings heading into this week's Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club, where you-know-who (Tiger Woods!) One prize fight after another. 25. But hes continued his elite golf as of late even if the driver hasnt quite been clicking. The former LSU star had been red-hot since the start of the 2021-22 season back in September, but back-to-back missed cuts at the Farmers Insurance Open and WM Phoenix Open have cooled him off considerably. 15. There were plenty of changes in this week's edition of the PGA Tour Power Rankings, including a new No. 16. Beyond that, his ball striking isnt reaching the ceilings weve grown to expect from him. Putting can give you some real success at Bay Hill. Sungjae Im is the highest among them at No. 2. Previous rank: 17 With primary rough at least 3 inches high, distance and accuracy off the tee plays up all week. When it does, it could make a difference of 10-15 degrees cooler. Schauffele's ailing back hasn't been much of a problem since he withdrew from the Tournament of Champions in his first start of 2023. Returning participants will be greeted to a course that will be wholly familiar. In his first start at the Genesis last year, he tied for 15th at 4-under, 8 strokes behind winner Max Homa. And since The Genesis Invitational was, self-evidently, an invitational, top 10s at Pebble would get into The Honda Classic. Each week in our golf power rankings, we will highlight the top players on the PGA TOUR in order of likeliness to win the tournament. *: Power Rankings (Puerto Rico), Sleepers (API), Payouts and Points (API), Payouts and Points (Puerto Rico), Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. It guarantees that someone else will be holding the trophy. 1. Hatton won the tournament in 2020 before Bryson DeChambeau prevailed in 2021. Weve seen some tougher courses for Par 5 scoring as of late, but Bay Hill is a place where you really want to get your birdies on those four holes and survive for the rest of the round. Patrick Cantlay : Cantlay quickly brushed off his surprising struggles in Phoenix with a 3rd at Riviera. He ranks in the top 15 on tour in strokes gained: total, tee to green and approach. Xander Schauffele : Schauffele has been a bit lost since he tied the lead in Phoenix on Saturday, as he dropped to 10th there on Sunday and had a strange week at Riviera. Harold Varner III The Australian took the week off after finishing in a tie for fourth at the Saudi International. The Australian took the week off after tying for 28th in last week's Saudi International. Its clear the Englishman loves the firm conditions and high winds that are often present in Orlando. Sure, its been 10 years since Woods last won at Bay Hill, but he collected eight victories here across 14 editions, including the last two of three consecutive when the course routed as a par 70 through 2009. Its an event dating back to 1972 thats been held at its current venue, PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, since 2007. He won the Fortinet Championship in September and then cooled off. He carded an 8-under 63 in the second round, the lowest round of the tournament, and hit all 18 greens in regulation, which he had done only one other time in 843 official rounds on tour. Average-sized paspalum greens wont exceed 11 feet on the Stimpmeter because of the omnipresence of the sea breezes from the east. He had one of the better fall swings of anyone on tour. 10. Click here to join DraftKings for a chance to win a $150 bonus on a $5 bet. Here is the list of favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook: If you or a loved one has questions or needs to talk to a professional about gambling, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit 1800gambler.net for more information. Previous rank: 22 Factors at play on the rankings are (in no order): Using the guidelines above to create a statistical model, value can be found in the betting market by highlighting players whose outlook for the tournament may be flying under the radar to the general public. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. The PGA Tour moves from Phoenix to Los Angeles this week for The Genesis Invitational, a tour mainstay dating back to 1926. 6. Few players have performed better at the TPC Scottsdale than Matsuyama, who had victories there in 2016 and 2017. When the wind machine was on high for the final round, the course yielded a 75.481, highest for any final round on TOUR all season. 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking, hasn't yet his stride this season. I'm not happy at all that I'm seventh. He finished second in the Saudi International, 2 shots behind LIV Golf's Abraham Ancer, and collected $525,000. Tony Finau : I was a little bit surprised to see Finaus extremely strong results in high winds since hes not someone we often hear about when talking about those conditions. Cantlay, who is ranked No. Unlike the last two tournaments that exceeded the allotted reservation to make room for all automatically eligible PGA TOUR members both were designated events the cap of 144 at PGA National is the field size as advertised. Collin Morikawa 1 for more than another dozen years to catch Woods' record total of 679 weeks ranked atop the Official World Golf Ranking. Brett White's wife, Natalie, was emotional watching her husband make his TOUR debut @WMPhoenixOpen. Hes a Louisianan, but he tends to play his best golf in the southeastern United States. But his course history of 9th, 10th, 9th and 2nd is still worth looking at. Free Kentucky Derby Contest! pic.twitter.com/Eud55ZASZc, the mug shot of the mulletted streaker from Friday at the WM Phoenix Open is rather perfect pic.twitter.com/ISyMDuc3me, Scheffler, Rahm and McIlroy battle for the top spot in PGA Tour Power Rankings, A battle for No. The field at Bay Hill is absolutely loaded once again for the PGA Tours new elevated events. On cue, the wind steps forward as the primary defense to a course that surrendered a scoring average of 71.339 last year, which essentially is the expectation. 14. Now 291st in the OWGR, the 29-year-old is seeking to rekindle the form that he flashed here last year. Those rarities occurred in the third round (69.85) in 2014 and the second round (69.61) in 2017. There may not be a man in golf Id rather have standing over the ball in high winds. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. Sungjae Im It started to come together at TPC Scottsdale. Previous rank: 6 Rahm still has the lead in the FedEx Cup points race. Stewart Cink knew how to win over the Phoenix fans. He was sixth on the DP World Tour last year in driving distance (322.07). Like Deion Sanders, Rickie Fowler is coming. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. Its officially a designated event in 2023, but you dont need to conceive a visual of the King himself winking, grinning and giving a thumbs-up to approve what we already know, that this tournament is special. He finished 5 over, which was third-worst among players who made the cut. Im taking a small look at SG: Tee-to-Green in very high winds to get a grasp on who will be able to navigate Bay Hill in the worst of conditions this week. The positive is that Thomas rarely chains together poor ball striking, and he did putt well at Genesis. Lees teed it up twice in 2023, both on the DP World Tours Middle-East swing. It's major week once again and with the best players in the world preparing to tee it up at Kiawah Island, we have listed 10 players in our PGA Championship Player Power Rankings. Viktor Hovland : Hovlands short game continues to let him down as he struggles to get much going since his run at The Open at St. Andrews. Michael Collins is back for an all-new season of America's Caddie. The good news is that the worst of the wind in early forecasting is moderate and kicking up only on Thursday and Sunday. *: Power Rankings (Puerto Rico), Sleepers (API), Payouts and Points (API), Payouts and Points (Puerto Rico), Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy will once again be looking to be World No. Of the 23 Player Impact Program winners, the only not to commit is Tiger Woods. Bay Hill currently measures 7,419 yards for a par 72. All you have to do is place a bet of at least $5 bet on any pre-game money line, and you wont even need a DraftKings promo code. Szokol opens with 64, up 3 shots in Singapore, More PGA Tour changes: No cuts, smaller fields, Rahm sought Tiger's advice on staying No. Kim, from South Korea, is tough to beat when his putter gets hot. He joins Luke List (Farmers Insurance Open) and Tom Hoge (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am) as new champions. TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Puerto Rico), Sleepers (API), SUNDAY: Payouts and Points (API), Payouts and Points (Puerto Rico), Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle. All five dozen bunkers on the property also are equipped with new drainage and sand. Ranks 3rd in Proximity: 200+ Yards and 5th in the model. 4. Daytime temperatures will eclipse 80 degrees and the threat for rain is relegated to a passing shower at worst. Ranks 1st in Proximity: 200+ Yards and 4th in the model. Expected high winds and firm conditions this week will also open things up a bit to accurate drivers. 4 @WMPhoenixOpen. Impressive stuff. 15 and 17 annually are among the most challenging as a set on TOUR, a fact due to sustained breezes from a southeasterly direction. Did the former world No. With primary rough at least 3 inches high, distance and accuracy off the tee plays up all week. Proud of how I fought around the golf course.". He had been too inconsistent off the tee and his putting hadn't been great, either. J.T. So, course management and accepting par as a great score at times will be key. So, course management and accepting par as a great score at times will be key. Rahm will surely be targeted by plenty of golf pundits in their Arnold Palmer Invitational predictions. Rahm is followed by Rory McIlroy (+900), Scottie Scheffler (+1000) and a large group at +2000 that is headlined by Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa. Bay Hill already is one of if not the hardest par 72 in a non-major in every season last years scoring average of 73.886 easily set the mark among its peers but consider that, in relatively docile conditions a year ago, the opening-round scoring average still was 72.292! Ranks 4th in SG: APP and 7th in Proximity: 200+ Yards. It's a weaker field than we've seen at the past two designated PGA Tour events, with the likes of Sungjae Im and Shane Lowry headlining the Honda Classic 2023 field. 1, a loaded LPGA field and more to watch in golf this week NOTE: ShotLink is not utilized for this tournament. What weve seen more often that not lately is Bermuda history continues to very relevant on Florida courses. That resembled last year when he coasted at Riviera after winning in Phoenix and then added a 2nd victory at Bay Hill. The PGA Tour heads north to central Florida to visit Orlando and continue the Florida Swing at one of the most well-known events of the season. Both made their way into the PGA Tour Power Rankings, which had quite a few adjustments from a week ago. He outlasted a couple of huge longshots in Eric Cole and Ryan Gerard, both of which would have been incredible stories on their own. His opening 74 was the highest score by anyone inside the top 28. Rory McIlroy : Lets not overreact to a very cold putter from McIlroy in mediocre results at Phoenix and Riviera.