The PGA Tour’s Florida swing treks on this weekend with the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club and Lodge. The tournament usually attracts some of the best golfers in the world, and this year will be no different.
While 2021 champion Bryson DeChambeau withdrew from the tournament on Monday because of a lingering hand injury, 2018 champion Rory McIlroy will return to Bay Hill for his fourth PGA Tour event of the season.
Which players are the favorites this time around? Who offers good odds? And what props are worthwhile?
Betting analysts Chris “The Bear” Fallica, Anita Marks, sports betting deputy editor David Bearman and, live from Bay Hill, the caddie Michael Collins, offer their best bets.
Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook unless otherwise noted.
Bets to win
Rory McIlroy
Bearman’s pick: To win (12-1)
I had strong conviction two weeks ago at the Genesis that we were due for a breakthrough win from McIlroy. He didn’t get the win, but he had a strong weekend ending in a T-10 finish. We won’t get the 22-1 price that we auto-bet then, as that field had all of the top-10 players in the world, but we are getting McIlroy in good form and on a track he does very well on. The beauty, and difficulty of handicapping Bay Hill, is that while it seems and looks like only long hitters win here, it has been won by long hitters (DeChambeau last year) and precision players (Kevin Na has won here, and Lee Westwood was runner-up last year). Well, McIlroy is all of the above. He can drive it long and has a top precision game when in form. McIlroy comes in with top-10s in both of his tour events this year, along with three top-12s overseas on the European Tour.