* - Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COMs Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday. Make no mistake, however, par still remains a terrific score on the course. A year ago, PGA National averaged 71.341, and thats pretty much where everyone expected it to land. Pro golf will be back to California this summer for the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, but the PGA Tours West Coast swing is in the books. 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. Previous rank: 6 2 had what felt like a bad week for most of it at Riviera and still finished 12th. 16. The through line is hitting greens in regulation no matter how that equation is written for the individual. Now, he has already won twice on the PGA Tour and is one of the more popular players. NHL trade grades: Latest deals Rahm has been especially hot as of late, which is why he tops the official world golf rankings. 2 in the world, will regain the top spot after becoming the seventh player to repeat as champion of the WM Phoenix Open, an event he claimed last year for his first PGA Tour victory. Previous rank: 11 There havent been any significant modifications to Grand Reserve, a stock par 72 on the coast east of San Juan. The driver has been very consistent lately, so hell just need a colder than usual putter to get rolling. Still, given his track record at Bay Hill and doses of phenomenal form a fortnight ago at Riviera, youll excuse any competitor for not missing him on the leaderboard this week. Since winning the Shriners Children's Open in October, he tied for fifth at the Tournament of Champions and for sixth at the American Express. This is the fourth designated event of the season. 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. 9. Scoring will be the name of the game this week. On Sunday, Scottie Scheffler reminded everyone in the sport who was ranked No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. The strongest that the invisible force will get is approximately 20 mph, but the positive spin, as it were, is that it'll be consistent throughout the tournament. He had made 13 straight cuts, which was the longest active streak on tour. Burns ranks 16th in strokes gained per round putting (.723) and is 16th in driving distance (312.0). He took T-2nd at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship where he was just a shot behind Victor Perez. That helped him make it onto the American Presidents Cup team where Burns played well despite a middling record. . Detroit Golf Club is a shorter par-72, measuring 7,370 yards and is one of the easiest courses on the circuit. 12. Previous rank: 17 Tiger Woods, who is not in the field this year, has won Arnold Palmers event a whopping eight times. Justin Thomas : Was gaining momentum going into Riviera after a huge final round in Phoenix vaulted him to 4th, but he lost all of that with one of his worst iron performances. TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Puerto Rico), Sleepers (API), SUNDAY: Payouts and Points (API), Payouts and Points (Puerto Rico), Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle. 1 once again. He had a 1-shot lead at the Sandersons Farms Championship in October and tied for eighth. 1 player catch lightning in a bottle at Pebble Beach, where he picked up his first PGA Tour victory in four years, or was it the start of a real resurgence? 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. 14. He briefly challenged Rahm on Sunday, and he was playing some of the best golf in the world to end his 2022. With a win, each also would qualify for the 2024 editions of the API. Jason Day : Day now has one finish worse than 21st in his last 10 starts, and hes tallied four Top 10s in that stretch. Power Rankings: PGA Championship. They're the 25 who have played the best this season and have the best form right now. Much of Fitzpatrick's best work over the past few months has come in Europe, where he was second in the Italian Open and tied for fifth at the DP World Tour championship. Call 1-800-GAMBLER if you have a gambling problem. Bet Now TULSA, Okla. Previous rank: 3 The Honda Classic, PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens, Our Arnold Palmer Invitational predictions are focused on Will Zalatoris, who is also among the top choices at +2200. According to Justin Ray of Twenty First Group, that's the best of any tour player during that span. Its all about finding the fairway however you can to avoid hazards around the green and avoid approaching from the long Bermuda rough. Speaking of top-10s, the LSU alum has a pair of them already in the 2022-23 PGA Tour season at the CJ Cup (T-7th) and WM Phoenix Open (T-6th). *: 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. What I value as much as anything with approaches this week is long iron play. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. 1. 1. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. Normally, the winning score is in the low to mid-teens with anything in double digits a great week. You may call them opposite events, but to the 120 in pursuit of a boatload of benefits, Puerto Rico is the island of opportunity. It's difficult to believe that it has been 456 days since DJ last won a PGA Tour event -- the 2020 Masters that was played in November. The North Dakota native is on a remarkable run. Previous rank: 16 Scheffler is atop the OWGR for the second time in his career, after spending 30 weeks at No. 22. Thats where 2022 PRO champion Ryan Brehm is competing this week. The Englishman has played very well in his first two starts in 2022, tying for sixth at Pebble Beach and tying for 10th at TPC Scottsdale. 16. An opening-round 73 left him out of the mix in Phoenix, but he's still playing as well as anyone in the world. Were now onto a multi-week jaunt through Florida starting with the Honda Classic. NOTE: ShotLink is not utilized for this tournament. And since The Genesis Invitational was, self-evidently, an invitational, top 10s at Pebble would get into The Honda Classic. Beyond that, his ball striking isnt reaching the ceilings weve grown to expect from him. Sundays finale easily will be the best round in the context of scoring conditions, but Bay Hills bite might strengthen even more than usual as the wind will rotate and howl in from the north. Collin Morikawa It was only a matter of time before the former Texas star closed out his first PGA Tour victory, and it finally happened on Sunday, when he beat Cantlay in a playoff. Numerous changes have been made to PGA National in the last 12 months, but most of the impactful modifications involved bunkering on seven holes. Brutally difficult conditions led to Scottie Scheffler persevering to win at 5-under last year. Chris Kirk lifted his first trophy since 2015 as he completely a lovely comeback story after dealing with alcoholism and depression. These Bermuda greens are fast and pure, and the winner here tends to have a really strong week with the flat stick. His best finish in three starts this year was a tie for 13th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. 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. In his first start at the Genesis last year, he tied for 15th at 4-under, 8 strokes behind winner Max Homa. Choi had eight PGA Tour wins. The PGA Tour's Florida Swing kicks off this week in Palm Beach Gardens when the 2023 Honda Classic tees off at PGA National. 1 for much of last season, when he won four times, including his first major championship (at the Masters). He joins Luke List (Farmers Insurance Open) and Tom Hoge (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am) as new champions. 35 on No. Finished 3rd and 11th here last two years. Jon Rahm is a +650 favorite to triumph at Bay Hill. His current form is absolutely terrible, as hes been dealing with an injury and the irons have been awful. 2. Hovland won the Hero World Challenge, an unofficial event that Woods hosted in the Bahamas in December, but he hasn't done anything spectacular in official tournaments so far in 2023. Ranks 2nd in SG: P and 16th in the model. He led the field in shots gained: approach this past weekend, the first time he has accomplished that since the 2022 U.S. Open at Brookline. Kim, from South Korea, is tough to beat when his putter gets hot. Spieth followed up his near-miss at Pebble Beach with a rather ordinary start at TPC Scottsdale, a tie for 60th at even par. Unlike the last two tournaments that exceeded the allotted reservation to make room for all automatically eligible PGA TOUR members both were designated events the cap of 144 at PGA National is the field size as advertised. If your first wager is a winner, not only will you receive the profits, but $150 worth of bonus bets will also be yours. 7. After a weekend of beer showers, aces and shirtless celebrations at the biggest party of the season at the WM Phoenix Open, the PGA Tour returns to normalcy with this week's Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club. It could get windy but doesnt look like it will be too out of control. The driver and putter are putting in elite work, while the irons have shown enough life at times to get him near the top of the leaderboard. Things are about to get good on the PGA Tour. PGA Championship 2022 Power Rankings: Top-50 Players This Week at Southern Hills Golf Credit: Getty Images. It's the first time the tour has had three consecutive first-time winners since 2019. Bay Hill has been a stock par 72 since 2010. It didnt matter to him that there were two fewer par 5s at the time, but thats always been a cornerstone weapon for the 82-time PGA TOUR winner. It should also be noted that Zalatoris was in the top 10 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2021. 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. 12. Scheffler had a round of 9-under 62 in the second round in Phoenix, which was his fifth career round of 62 or lower. Since tying for second at the Shriners Children's Open in early October, he tied for 16th at the Tournament of Champions, tied for 26th at the American Express and missed the cut in Phoenix, where he lost in a playoff to Scheffler last season. 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. In the third round of the 2022 Mexico Open at Vidanta, Jon Rahm shot a 3-under 68 to get to 15-under through 54 holes. Won at Bay Hill in 2016 and has finished decently in all three tries since. 57 in the OWGR, moving him closer to the top 50 for an invitation to the Masters in April. The PGA Tour had a golf tournament this past weekend, and Sungjae Im didn't participate. Lee also was T-13th at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic where he finished ahead of names like Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard, Perez, Tyrrell Hatton, etc. PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, and the Swinging Golfer design are registered trademarks. Rafael Campos The 34-year-old native of Puerto Rico hasnt been the same since an injured left elbow thwarted his only DNP in tournament history in 2020. He outlasted a couple of huge longshots in Eric Cole and Ryan Gerard, both of which would have been incredible stories on their own. 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. Hes proof of the value of a home game. 10. 13. FREE Picks Contest For the Arnold Palmer Invitational: Win An Amazon Gift Card Instantly! 8. Stream on ESPN+. *All stats are from a players last 24 rounds. It is time for the first opportunity event of the season. 20. Free to enter! It currently plays to a par 70 at 7,244 yards with a 75.5 course rating and 149 slope rating. Hideki Matsuyama Corey Conners : Conners will be happy hes off the West Coast considering his usual struggles there. 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 cutline has been over par in 10 of the last 11 years. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. He has five top-25 finishes in seven tour starts this season, including a tie for third at the Shriners Children's Open and QBE Shootout, an unofficial event. but he tends to play his best golf in the southeastern United States. Previous rank: 1 All of them are reachable for longer players and allow eagle chances throughout the round. Hes a Louisianan, but he tends to play his best golf in the southeastern United States. As always, Ill prefer distance, but you can get around here in a variety of ways. 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. Well look at SG: Approach as well as Greens in Regulations Gained to get a grasp on the guys who will be avoiding trouble with their irons this week and making plenty of pars. 4 @WMPhoenixOpen. Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, Jordan Spieth and Hideki Matsuyama will be among the notables considered in Golfbet Insider. PGA TOUR Rob Bolton's fantasy golf preview for the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational ROB BOLTON'S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.com's Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives.. 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 short game has been way off, but the ball striking continues to be there. Michael Collins is back for an all-new season of America's Caddie. Tony Finau : I was a little bit surprised to see Finaus extremely strong results in high winds since hes not someone we often hear about when talking about those conditions. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. Here are the latest PGA Tour Power Rankings heading into this week's Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club, where you-know-who (Tiger Woods!) pic.twitter.com/U4xDqJhNHs. Joe Nicely's under-the-radar DraftKings, FanDuel PGA DFS picks for the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. Who's out: Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton, Just missed the cut: DeChambeau, Hatton, Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners, Russell Henley, Brian Harman, Abraham Ancer, Louis Oosthuizen, Harris English, Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson, Matthew Wolff, PGA Tour Power Rankings: Time to make a change at the top, A battle for No. Previous rank: 13 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. "I'm gonna say exactly what 99.99 percent of fans said about players leaving . He was unable to earn his card through Korn Ferry Tour Finals last year, but he can redeem himself by going low at PGA National. Greenside seats, you've been warned. He is scheduled to play at Riviera. Justin Thomas (+1200) With seven top-10 finishes this season, including at the Masters in April, the 14-time. Tyrrell Hatton : With some solid form building and a trip back to Florida, Hatton has to be in good spirits going to Bay Hill. He ranks in the top 15 on tour in strokes gained: total, tee to green and approach. He finished 5 over, which was third-worst among players who made the cut. Harold Varner III 6. Six were top-fives. : Payouts and Points, Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers WEDNESDAY: Golfbet Insider SUNDAY: Payouts and Points, Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle * - Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM's. He tied for 11th at the Farmers Insurance Open and tied for sixth in Phoenix. Schauffele made too many mistakes down the stretch to end a three-year drought without a victory on tour. Szokol opens with 64, up 3 shots in Singapore, More PGA Tour changes: No cuts, smaller fields, Rahm sought Tiger's advice on staying No. Every eligible Top 50 player in the world is in attendance to battle it out for the $20 million purse. Matt Fitzpatrick The goal will be to hit shorter irons into challenging targets with invisible forces poised to smack even properly executed strikes out of the sky. PGA Championship Fantasy Golf Power Rankings (odds via DraftKings as of May 12) 1. Schauffele was right in the mix again in Phoenix, even after a run-in with a cactus and losing his regular caddie, Austin Kaiser, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday. He won here in 2020, finished 2nd last year, and added a 4th as a debutant in 2017. 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. Collin Morikawa : Morikawa grades out exceptionally in every category this week except putting, and that will be the obvious spot that determines his finish this week. 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. 1 for more than another dozen years to catch Woods' record total of 679 weeks ranked atop the Official World Golf Ranking. Rory McIlroy Justin Thomas is one to watch this week at the PGA Championship. 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, Scheffler repeats at Phoenix Open, back to No. Still, given his track record at Bay Hill and doses of phenomenal form a fortnight ago at Riviera, youll excuse any competitor for not missing him on the leaderboard this week. After a slow start to the season, the former Florida star is beginning to heat up. The Florida swing on the PGA Tour begins this week at the 2023 Honda Classic as players aim to kickstart their seasons in the Sunshine State. Day had just two top-10s and five top-25s in 19 starts last season. On a track that can reach 7,506 yards and with primary rough at a standard two inches in height, shorter hitters are influenced to just play their game, but like all proper tests, Grand Reserve rewards all archetypes. 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. Cameron Smith will not be in the field to defend his title due to leaving for LIV Golf. 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. Sungjae Im : Im not going to make the mistake of dismissing Sungjae this week because of a couple of mediocre results at Honda and Riviera. Free Kentucky Derby Contest! This years field is as weak as this tournaments seen in years. Michael Kim Hes a living, breathing example of the power of the additional event. Theegala is the first player this season to hold at least a share of two 54-hole leads. But he missed the cut at the WM Phoenix Open after hitting consecutive shots into the water on No. Bradley, 36, is third in FedEx Cup points. Ranks 2nd in SG: APP and 4th in GIRs Gained. Harry Hall Until he showcases his talent outside of Las Vegas, hell remain typecast as a no-brainer to give it a proper run at the Shriners. 4. Only eight of the top 50 from the Official World Golf Rankings are playing the Honda Classic. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports. The field at Bay Hill is absolutely loaded once again for the PGA Tours new elevated events. Previous rank: 25 He was just four off the winning pace on a crowded, talented . Your guess is as good as anyones about when Collin putts well, but when he does, hes generally always in the Top 5. PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, and the Swinging Golfer design are registered trademarks.