Arnold Palmer Invitational Betting Tips: The Panel's 5 Selections From Bay Hill
This week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational is the second stop on the Florida Swing and the fourth Signature Event of the season.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler is the 7/2 favourite with betting sites for a successful title defence and third victory in his last four visits to Bay Hill.
The world number one is closely followed by 8/1 shot and 2018 champion Rory McIlroy, who has finished inside the top six in five of his last eight trips to Arnie’s Place where 72 players are competing, including a welcome return from injury for Open champion Xander Schauffele.
There is a halfway cut for the top 50 and those within 10 strokes of the lead at this tough course, which has ranked inside the top 10 for most difficult on the PGA Tour in the last five years and has seen single -winners in three of the last five renewals.
The Panel made a decent return at last week’s Cognizant Classic where Russell Henley gave them a full each-way pay-out at 45/1 for first-round leader.
Jake Knapp, tipped by The Panel to be leading after round one at the previous week’s Mexico Open, shot a sensational opening 59 at PGA National, but at least he delivered an each-way place at 75/1, although it should have been so much better.
Those pay-outs ensured a profitable February for The Panel, who have five Arnold Palmer Invitational betting tips ahead of next week’s Players’ Championship at Sawgrass.
Arnold Palmer Invitational Betting Tips: Henley Looks Hot
There’s a lot to like about Henley this week even if he isn’t the most prolific winner on the PGA Tour.
Henley’s last victory came at the World Wide Technology Championship in November 2022, but he had seven top 10s in 2024 – including the US Open and The Open - and has made an excellent start to the new season.
The 35-year-old American followed 10th at the Sony Open in Hawaii with fifth at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and last week he finished sixth at PGA National which uses the same TifEagle Bermuda grass on the greens as Bay Hill.
Henley’s putting was so-so last week, but his all-round game was solid which should stand him in good stead at this exacting course in such elite company.
Twelve months ago, Henley was second best at putting at Bay Hill using the Strokes Gained metric which helped him finish fourth, although he was a long way behind winner Scheffler like everybody else.
It would be wrong just to focus on putting as the key to success at Bay Hill, where the fairways are wide but the rough has been shortened around the greens in front of water hazards and bunkers.
Henley also has a sharp iron game and he looks in the mood to challenge Scheffler this week, so he makes the cut at 35/1, although 40/1 is available with other bookmakers offering fewer places than the seven offered by William Hill.
It's also worth bearing in mind that three of Henley’s four PGA Tour wins came in the first four months of the year and hopefully he can replicate that form this week.
Arnold Palmer Invitational Prediction 1: Russell Henley (Each-Way) - 35/1 With William Hill (Seven Places)
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Arnold Palmer Invitational Betting Tips:
- Russell Henley (Each-Way) - 35/1 With William Hill (Seven Places)
- Ben Griffin (Each-Way) - 50/1 With BoyleSports (10 Places)
- Harris English (Each-Way) - 130/1 With SpreadEx (Six Places)
- Corey Conners First-Round Leader - 45/1 With BoyleSports (Seven Places)
- Corey Conners Top 20 - 2/1 With SpreadEx
Arnold Palmer Invitational Odds: Door Open For Griffin
It would perhaps be a surprise if Ben Griffin broke his PGA Tour title duck this week, but Brian Campbell and Joe Highsmith rocked the boat in the last couple of weeks with their shock wins in Mexico and Florida.
Griffin broke into the world’s top 50 on the back of his display at the Cognizant Classic where his putter got him out of jail in the final round.
A closing two-under-par 69 on the Champion Course ensured a tie for fourth place, the same position he finished in Mexico in the previous week.
Griffin hits the ball in excess of 300 yards and is inside the top 40 for Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green this season, but his putting stats last week give encouragement that he could go well playing in his ninth consecutive tournament.
Ordinarily, anyone playing that much golf should be feeling the strain, yet Griffin is actually improving and looks a great prospect at 50/1 with BoyleSports, which is offering 10 places.
Griffin has only played Bay Hill once in 2023 when he finished 14th, five shots behind surprising winner Kurt Kitayama who held off the challenge threatened by Scheffler and McIlroy.
With a top 15 here in elite company, Griffin looks ready to strike in a limited, albeit quality, field.
Arnold Palmer Invitational Prediction 2: Ben Griffin (Each-Way) - 50/1 With BoyleSports (10 Places)
Arnold Palmer Invitational Preview: English Can Double Up
Harris English has already won this year and is as low as 66/1 with some betting apps to repeat his January success in the Farmers Insurance Open.
Victory at Torrey Pines ended a four-and-a-half-year title drought for the 35-year-old American, who is back inside the world’s top 40 and fully refreshed after resting for the last two weeks.
English was the runner-up to Kitayama at Bay Hill in 2023 which came three years after a top-10 finish at the same tournament, so he has history of playing well on this course.
One of the best putters on Tour, English drives the ball reasonably long and although his tee-to-green stats could be better, he had a positive number at Bay Hill last year (+0.37).
He is a gamble, but one worth taking at 130/1 with SpreadEx, almost double the price offered by some bookies.
Arnold Palmer Invitational Prediction 3: Harris English (Each-Way) - 130/1 With SpreadEx (Six Places)
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Arnold Palmer Invitational Predictions: Keep Conners Onside
In January, Mr Consistent Corey Conners missed his first cut since the 2023 US Open and The Panel are doubling up on the Canadian for first-round leader and a top 20 as the last of their Arnold Palmer Invitational tips.
Conners was 11th after the first round at the Phoenix Open which he followed with an opening 72 for 14th spot at the Genesis Invitational which had been switched from Riviera to the South Course at Torrey Pines because of the devasating Los Angeles wildfires.
Encouragingly, Conners has form when it comes to a fast start at Bay Hill, sharing the lead with McIlroy in 2021, so he looks an interesting play at 45/1 with golf betting sites to lead the field at the end of Thursday.
Arnold Palmer Invitational Prediction 4: Corey Conners First-Round Leader - 45/1 With BoyleSports (Seven Places)
Arnold Palmer Invitational Tips: Top 20 On Cards Again
Conners has also finished inside the top 20 in three of his last four visits to this course, although he missed making it a clean sweep with T21 two years ago.
His form tailed off after starting the year with fifth place at The Sentry, but a top 25 at Torrey Pines suggests he could go well at a track where he consistently performs well.
Tenth in the SG: Tee-to-Green metrics for the 2024 season, Conners is nowhere near that level in the first couple of months of 2025, which is why The Panel are on board Conners for the top 20 at 2/1.
Arnold Palmer Invitational Prediction 5: Corey Conners Top 20 - 2/1 With SpreadEx
