2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational Odds and Picks
- The Arnold Palmer Invitational from Bay Hill, FL tees off Thursday, March 3rd
- Jon Rahm is the +750 favorite to win over 2018 champ Rory McIlroy
- See the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational odds below and the best bets to win this weekend
After Sepp Straka emerged from a relatively weak field to win at the Honda Classic, four of the top ten players in golf are teeing it up at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The defending champion is Bryson DeChambeau – who initially was in the field but has opted not to compete as he deals with nagging injuries.
Breaking through on the PGA Tour has been the trend as of late, with Straka’s triumph at the Honda the fourth first-time winner in the last five weeks. The lone exception was Joaquin Niemann, who took the Genesis Invitational for title number two. Until DeChambeau overtook Lee Westwood to claim this event in 2021, there had been five straight international champions of this event at Bay Hill.
The great defense of this track is when the wind starts whipping, as evidenced by Tyrrell Hatton’s 4-under-par winning score in 2020. That is the lone single digits under-par winning score in the last ten iterations of this prestigious championship. The winner gains a three-year exemption to the PGA Tour, unlike the typical two-year for winning a title.
2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational Odds
| Golfers | Odds |
|---|---|
| Jon Rahm | +750 |
| Rory McIlroy | +1000 |
| Scottie Scheffler | +1600 |
| Viktor Hovland | +1800 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | +2000 |
| Sungjae Im | +2200 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | +2500 |
| Will Zalatoris | +2500 |
| Tyrrell Hatton | +2800 |
| Marc Leishman | +2800 |
| Adam Scott | +3500 |
| Paul Casey | +3500 |
| Russell Henley | +4000 |
| Max Homa | +4500 |
| Keith Mitchell | +4500 |
| Sergio Garcia | +5000 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | +5000 |
| Sam Burns | +5000 |
| Jason Kokrak | +5000 |
| Maverick McNealy | +5000 |
Odds as of February 28th at DraftKings Sportsbook
For those new to the sport, be sure to brush up on golf betting basics. Or if you’re looking for a little more success this weekend, check out four tricks for smarter golf betting.
Viktor Hovland on a Roll
In three of his last seven starts, Viktor Hovland has tasted victory: at Mayakoba, the Hero World Challenge and the DP Tour’s Dubai Classic. He’s also had a couple of other close brushes at titles during that span, finishing T-4th at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and his last start, a T-4th at the Genesis Invitational.
For the campaign, the Norwegian star is first in birdie average and eighth in greens in regulation, which will get him plenty of looks at Bay Hill.
Viktor Hovland is taking a unique route on No. 15 this week @TheGenesisInv. pic.twitter.com/LdrRQ9aYkG
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 19, 2022
He comes in at +1800 on the board, which is longer odds than the top-three golfers (Rahm, McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler). Part of that is attributed to his good-not-great track record around this course. He’s made the cut all three times, but has had average results at best. With his stellar play of late, and him fully coming into his own as a prolific player, his odds are very enticing.
Last Five Arnold Palmer Invitational Winners
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2021 | Bryson DeChambeau |
| 2020 | Tyrrell Hatton |
| 2019 | Francesco Molinari |
| 2018 | Rory McIlroy |
| 2017 | Marc Leishman |
2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational Best Value Picks
- Will Zalatoris (+2500): This event holds special meaning for Will Zalatoris, who went to Wake Forest on an Arnold Palmer Scholarship and won the Arnold Palmer rookie of the year award for 2020-21. In his last three starts, he’s been T-6th, runner-up in a playoff at the Farmers Insurance Open and T-26th. He’s first in strokes gained: tee-to-green for the season and in his API debut last year, had a solid top-ten.
- Jason Day (+6500): Jason Day is a past champion at Bay Hill, having won it in 2016. In four of the last five times teeing it up at this track, he’s landed inside the Top 25. Last year was the outlier, but that was a T-31st showing that saw him in the hunt through 54 holes until a tough final round. He’s sixth in total strokes gained the last 24 rounds at this course and two starts ago, missed out on a playoff by a shot at Torrey Pines.
- Patrick Reed (+15000): Every week he plays recently I’ve been touting Patrick Reed, despite some rather shoddy golf in 2022. Even though he hasn’t been anywhere close to his normal self, getting him at these odds is outrageous, particularly because he wins at great tracks throughout his career. In 2020, he was T-15th at this championship, and T-7th in 2018.
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Michael "Hound Dog" Harrison is well known in the sports industry as the resident statistician for the SC with Jay Onrait Show. He has worked at TSN for over 16 years, where he's been featured on Sportscentre, That's Hockey, That's Hockey 2Nite, The Masters preview shows, and several more.
