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2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational: Top 10 power rankings at Bay Hill

By Mike Randleman

Mar 7, 2020; Orlando, Florida, USA; Arnold Palmer logo flags fly with Mastercard flags over the grandstands on the ninth hole during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament at Bay Hill Club & Lodge. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2020; Orlando, Florida, USA; Arnold Palmer logo flags fly with Mastercard flags over the grandstands on the ninth hole during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament at Bay Hill Club & Lodge. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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When life gives you lemons, you find yourself some iced tea and do it up like the legend Arnold Palmer would.

The King left us five years ago, but his legacy lives on with the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The API began in 1979, succeeding the Florida Citrus Open held at Rio Pinar Country Club from 1966-1978.

Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida, opened for business in 1974 and has hosted the API every year since the tournament’s inception.

Today, one of Arnie’s more revered layouts measures 7,454 yards for a par 72. Modern technology has taken away some of the teeth, but Bay Hill is still a place where you can’t fake it around. That’s how Mr. Palmer intended it.

Water comes in to play on nine holes. A number of forced carries and a plenty of bunkering adds to the challenge. So does swirling wind on the relatively exposed course.

Less than driver is the optimal choice off the tee on several holes, so look for long iron specialists to punch above their weight this week.

Tees, fairways and rough are composed of Bermuda grass overseeded with perennial rye. The greens are Bermuda overseeded with poa trivialis.

The winning score has been between 11- and 13-under-par five of the past nine years. Last year the fan was blowing, making Bay Hill play like the U.S. Open type of test the course creator intended. Tyrrell Hatton gritted out a one-stroke victory at 4-under, the second highest winning score in relation to par in tournament history.

Fun fact, the highest winning score in relation to par was courtesy of Mike Nicolette in 1983. The American journeyman won his lone PGA Tour event by recording 1-under 283 (Bay Hill was a par-71 at the time) and beating Greg Norman in a playoff.

The early weather forecast shows chances for rain during the practice rounds and on Saturday, but nothing that should be a big influence on the proceedings. Temperatures expect to be in the upper 50s to lower 70s with low double-digit mile-per-hour winds expected.

It may not be the menace it was in 2020, but Bay Hill could still give these guys a fair test.

This is an elevated status event on the PGA Tour with 123 players in the invitational field. A bigger purse and a three-year exemption to the winner is enticing, but the tournament falls in a tough spot on the schedule.

This year’s API is wedged between Riviera (another elevated status event) and a World Golf Championship on one side followed by the Players Championship on the other.

The Masters is getting ever closer. Guys crave competitive reps, but they have to sit at some point. The top five players in the Official World Golf Rankings are absent, as well as eight of the top 12.

This event should get a more favorable shake on the schedule in coming years like it’s used to. To me, it’s still appointment television.

Let’s dive into the top 10 players to keep an eye on to win at Arnie’s Place:

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