Copyright 2023 PGA TOUR, Inc. All rights reserved. Kim, from South Korea, is tough to beat when his putter gets hot. Ranks 1st in SG: Par 5, 2nd in SG: APP and 2nd in the model. It should also be noted that Zalatoris was in the top 10 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2021. 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. Hes unsurprisingly 1st in High Winds, and some of his recent top finishes came when the going got very tough. A cozy field of 120 is chasing a winners cut of 550 FedExCup points and $3.6 million from a prize fund of $20 million. Gained 11.4 strokes ball striking in his debut here last year. The Los Angeles native hasn't finished better than 26th in two starts at the Genesis Invitational. Scheffler is atop the OWGR for the second time in his career, after spending 30 weeks at No. For a variety of reasons. There may be few players happier that the PGA Tour is onto the Florida swing than Sam Burns. 16. Both of his top 25s on the PGA TOUR have occurred in his transplanted hometown event, and both are top-15 finishes. In fact, a field has beaten par in a round just twice since PGA National assumed its role as the host in 2007. An opening-round 73 left him out of the mix in Phoenix, but he's still playing as well as anyone in the world. After his runner-up finish at the WM Phoenix Open, Cantlay has finished inside the top five in 21 of his past 24 rounds played. 20. Finishes of 10th and 38th at Bay Hill with elite ball striking. Its, ahem, treated to one of the hardest par 70s on the PGA TOUR. Did the former world No. He's 13th strokes gained: total and has putted well this season. 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. Its all about finding the fairway however you can to avoid hazards around the green and avoid approaching from the long Bermuda rough. The Honda Classic, PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens, *: 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. Daytime temperatures will eclipse 80 degrees and the threat for rain is relegated to a passing shower at worst. Itd be dumb to ignore him at a course that requires elite driving, and he gained 4.6 OTT here in a 13th last year. This is the fourth designated event of the season. Young, the 2022 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, had quite the week. 5. Max Homa His career victory total is second among South Korean golfers; K.J. In addition to the aforementioned rewards, clutching the silver trophy and slipping on the iconic red sweater, the winner will be exempt into THE PLAYERS Championship through 2025 and his PGA TOUR membership will be extended through at least 2026. . Trusting that greens will be adjusted accordingly, its a plan that likely will extend into Saturdays third round for which the elements will mimic the opener, albeit with a slight risk of inclement weather. The Australian took the week off after finishing in a tie for fourth at the Saudi International. Previous rank: 10 Completely disregarded the laws on physics on this one. Access 4,300-plus hours of live coverage from 35 PGA Tour tournaments each year, including four days of coverage at 28 events with four feeds each day. Lees teed it up twice in 2023, both on the DP World Tours Middle-East swing. Previous rank: 17 One prize fight after another. No one is exactly sure why, considering Im likes to play -- a lot. Numerous changes have been made to PGA National in the last 12 months, but most of the impactful modifications involved bunkering on seven holes. Ranks 7th in SG: OTT and 7th in SG: APP. Sam Burns 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. In 2022, Lee struggled early on with one top-10 in his first 20 starts. With tree-lined, narrow fairways on a longer course, elite drivers of the golf ball are at an upper hand at Bay Hill. 2 had what felt like a bad week for most of it at Riviera and still finished 12th. 25. 4. He finished fifth in the Genesis Invitational last season. 1. Maybe Bay Hill can sort him out, where he finished 2nd last year and struck it well in four starts. 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. By signing up here for a new account right now, all new users can lock in their chance at $150 in bonus bets. Zalatoris was sidelined due to injury for the latter part of 2022, but he placed in a tie for fourth last month at Riviera, and that clearly shows he is back in business. Zalatoris didn't play in Phoenix after he was forced to pull out of the AT&T Pebble Pro-Am a week earlier after testing positive for COVID-19. Power Rankings: Puerto Rico Open It's probably only a matter of time before Burns starts heating up again, after a relatively quiet start to 2023. Might he get back on track at Riviera? "I think when guys are playing as well as Nick [Taylor] was today, it really did put a lot of pressure on me and I responded very well," Scheffler said. Previous rank: 20 With primary rough at least 3 inches high, distance and accuracy off the tee plays up all week. Brooks Koepka Patrick Cantlay * - Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COMs Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday. When asked about being ranked No. 7 in the world last week, JT said, "I tried to stop looking because, yeah, it pisses me off, too. 1 once again. On the heels of last weeks Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, the tour takes its talents to Orlandos Bay Hill Club & Lodge for the Arnold Palmer Invitational that begins on Thursday and wraps up on Sunday. Ranks 10th in the model and 11th in SG: APP. Any tournament can be won with elite iron play, but with higher scores and the importance on driving it well here, you can get away with just a decent week with the irons. Weve seen high winds at Bay Hill in the past, and the course plays outrageously hard when thats the case. The PGA Tour had a golf tournament this past weekend, and Sungjae Im didn't participate. 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. He has 10 top-10s in 14 starts there, including a victory in 2020. Kim backed that win up with consecutive top-25 finishes at the American Express, Farmers Insurance Open and WM Phoenix Open. 2023 Honda Classic predictions, expert picks, odds, field rankings Just like his new world ranking, the Spaniard cant seem to do anything wrong currently, and hell be looking for his 4th win of the year this week. Cantlay ranks 127th on tour in shots gained: approach (-.117). 1, LIV Golf's debut on The CW scores low ratings, How to watch PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational on ESPN+, Kirk wins Honda in playoff; 1st title since 2015, Howell (63) wins in Mexico for 1st title in LIV, Nicklaus: '24 schedule likely to aid Honda field, Siem ends 8-year wait for another Euro Tour title, Vu overcomes 6-shot deficit to win 1st LPGA title, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Author of seven books on college football. Expected high winds and firm conditions this week will also open things up a bit to accurate drivers. His ball-striking is elite and ranks . Just a friendly reminder that these aren't necessarily the 25 most talented players in the world or the 25 greatest players on tour. It guarantees that someone else will be holding the trophy. 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. He finished second in the Saudi International, 2 shots behind LIV Golf's Abraham Ancer, and collected $525,000. Putting can give you some real success at Bay Hill. He tied for 45th at the Saudi International. Bet Now TULSA, Okla. 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. Bay Hill has been a stock par 72 since 2010. After finishing solo fifth at Phoenix, he now has three top-10s and seven top-25s in nine starts this season. A year ago, Kim was preparing for the Royal's Cup in Thailand on the Asian Tour. On Sunday, Scottie Scheffler reminded everyone in the sport who was ranked No. Free to enter! PGA TOUR Golf Power Rankings: Sungjae Im on Top, Christiaan Ranks 4th in High Winds and 8th in SG: APP. 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. Copyright 2023 PGA TOUR, Inc. All rights reserved. Choi had eight PGA Tour wins. Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, Jordan Spieth and Hideki Matsuyama will be among the notables considered in Golfbet Insider. Rahm would have to be ranked No. It was the largest 36-hole comeback at the WM Phoenix Open since it moved to TPC Scottsdale in 1987, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. I feel like I'm way better than that and I've been working harder to try to do that.". They turned out to be foreshocks for four months of brilliant form that yielded a return to fully exempt status on the PGA TOUR. Scheffler had a round of 9-under 62 in the second round in Phoenix, which was his fifth career round of 62 or lower. If your first wager is a winner, not only will you receive the profits, but $150 worth of bonus bets will also be yours. PGA Tour golf rankings at CBSSports.com include the world golf rankings, FedEx Cup points, and money list. 2 ranked player in the world. 15 in the second round, which knocked him out for the weekend. 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. PGATOUR.coms Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. More ESPN+ content . Billy Horschel 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking, hasn't yet his stride this season. 1 for much of last season, when he won four times, including his first major championship (at the Masters). After tying for 25th in back-to-back starts at the Tournament of Champions and Farmers Insurance Open, he was much better in Phoenix, finishing solo fourth at 13 under. 1, a loaded LPGA field and more to watch in golf this week, Here's everything you missed this week in professional golf, Jin Young Ko up by 2 in Singapore title defense, Quigley fires 65 for early lead in PGA Champions, Kitayama handles windy Bay Hill as Rahm falters, Tiger not part of field for next week's Players, Young stretches lead to 4 in Puerto Rico Open, Rahm stays hot, finishes strong for Bay Hill lead, Rookie Young captures Puerto Rico lead with 63. The Australian took the week off after tying for 28th in last week's Saudi International. When it does, it could make a difference of 10-15 degrees cooler. It was during the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am three weeks ago when the expectation surfaced that top 10s at Pebble wouldnt pay forward for entry into the WM Phoenix Open. He had made 13 straight cuts, which was the longest active streak on tour. 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 Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. Previous rank: 11 Max Homa : Continued his incredible run in California with a 2nd at Riviera, and its safe to say hes being respected as one of the best in the world at this point. The reigning U.S. Open winner has only four PGA Tour starts this season; his best finish was a tie for seventh at the Tournament of Champions. Ranks 1st in Proximity: 200+ Yards and 4th in the model. Too bad we didn't get to see Rickie Fowler in action this past week at the Northern Trust Open. Day climbed from No. By Friday, thatll be the sustained average for the prevailing push from the southwest, while gusts will reach 35 mph. Your guess is as good as anyones about when Collin putts well, but when he does, hes generally always in the Top 5. Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, Jordan Spieth and Hideki Matsuyama will be among the notables considered in Golfbet Insider. 13. Theres usually rain during at least some point in the event and water lurks around many corners. 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. PGA Tour Power Rankings: Cameron rises, Rory surges and LIV players exit 220d Mark Schlabach A battle for No. 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. Of the 23 Player Impact Program winners, the only not to commit is Tiger Woods. The Norwegian went into Phoenix as one of the hottest golfers on the planet, having won in three of his past five starts on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. Justin Thomas is one to watch this week at the PGA Championship. The 15th edition of the Puerto Rico Open is slated to be contested concurrently with the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard for the second straight year. TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Puerto Rico), Sleepers (API), SUNDAY: Payouts and Points (API), Payouts and Points (Puerto Rico), Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle. Thomas, the reigning PGA Championship winner, still seemed to be dialing things in heading into Phoenix. Spieth bounced back from disappointing back-to-back starts-he missed the cut at the Sony Open and tied for 63rd at Pebble Beach-to finish tied for sixth at TPC Scottsdale. Follow your favorite players throughout the 2023 season. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. Previous rank: 18 Yeah, you might want to move those next year. Of course, he remains indefinitely beholden to when his extended recovery will allow him to play in accordance with a chosen schedule. He'll make his debut on tour this year at Riviera. After winning for the first time in four years at the Zozo Championship in October, he has piled up three other top-25s at the CJ Cup at South Carolina, Farmers Insurance Open (runner-up) and Phoenix Open.