This week holds a special place in everyone’s heart who loves golf and that’s for very good reason. Arnold Palmer has done as much for the game of golf as anyone who played on the PGA Tour or been a part of the game. Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Tiger Woods…that’s who is in Arnie’s company, not the other way around. Arnie’s Army was a term coined in the 1960s by the media to describe a legion of fans who rallied behind and supported Mr. Palmer. His charismatic charm and what then was considered an unorthodox style of play had fans captivated. His presence was never scarce, no matter where you were in the golf world for nearly 5 decades of his life. The Arnold Palmer Invitational played at Bay Hill down in Orlando, FL is a tournament that players just feel differently about, it’s just not another spot on the Florida swing, and I’m sure we’ll hear a lot of the same from media this week at Arnie’s Place.
This week’s field is peppered full of talent after a somewhat lack of star power on the tee sheet in West Palm at the Honda Classic this past weekend. World #1 John Rahm is teeing it up for his first appearance at Bay Hill, and joined by 5 others in the Top 10 and previous winners of the tournament. Last year, Byron DeChambeau stole the show with his monster drive on hole six and went on the win the tournament by one stroke over Lee Westwood.
Bryson has been battling some wrist problems lately, but anyone who thinks he isn’t going to try and carry the water on six again is a fool. Arnie’s Army will ask for it, and he will deliver. But he’s at the bottom of the top ten of favorites to win the tournament. No surprise Rahm is the favorite at +750, as he is in most tournaments he enters, so we’ll see how he performs in his first try. Only Kevin Chappell has played all four rounds in the 60s and I expect the course to have some teeth this weekend. The remainder of the top ten is as follows:
Rory McIlroy +1000
Scottie Scheffler +1600
Viktor Hovland +1800
Matthew Fitzpatrick +2000
Sung-Jae Im +2800
Tyrrell Hatton +2800
Marc Leishman +2800
Hideki Matsuyama +2800
Bryson DeChambeau +2800
If you’re interested in officially joining Arnie’s Army, we have some vintage pins from the 2017 Masters, the year Mr. Palmer passed. See the pin here: Arnie’s Army Pin
