Last week's Honda Classic saw Chris Kirk secure his 5th career PGA Tour victory in a playoff against rookie Eric Cole – and it didn't come without the predicted “Bear Trap” drama! I'd picked Shane Lowry as one of my outrights, and he finished in a tie for 5th. Maybe we're getting closer to a win!'This week, the big guns are back in action. This is such a great time of the year for golf, with four out of five straight events being in the new “elevated” category, which means more money, more points and more superstar power on the course.
Next week, we have The Players Championship, but this week it's off to Arnie's Place. Bay Hill hosts the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and with another $20 million purse you know the field is stacked. In fact, 44 of the OWGR top 50 are in action, the most in any event since last year's Open Championship at St Andrews.
As we've seen with the two previous elevated events (WM Phoenix Open and Genesis Invitational), the cream rises to the top with Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm claiming the respective victories. Scheffler won the API last year in really difficult conditions and is back to defend.'However, Bay Hill is a bit of a different beast and can throw up some surprises, especially when it comes to Sunday comebacks. Rory McIlroy (2018 winner) and Francesco Molinari (2019 winner) both shot 64 on Sunday to come from way back to win.
Plus, last year's winning score was only -5, and in 2020 Tyrell Hatton shot over par on both Saturday and Sunday to win at -4. The wind can really pick up and wreak havoc. Last year saw some of the toughest conditions the tournament had ever seen, with the Sunday scoring average reaching 75.48. Some guys have elected to skip this event in the past so they don't feel totally beat up by the time they arrive at The Players the following week.