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2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational: Top 10 power rankings at Bay Hill

By Mike Randleman

Mar 5, 2020; Orlando, Florida, USA; A spot for Arnold Palmer is marked on the practice range and his bag of clubs is standing by as a tribute to him during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament at Bay Hill Club & Lodge. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2020; Orlando, Florida, USA; A spot for Arnold Palmer is marked on the practice range and his bag of clubs is standing by as a tribute to him during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament at Bay Hill Club & Lodge. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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Bay Hill, Arnold Palmer Invitational, PGA
Mar 6, 2021; Orlando, Florida, USA; Matthew Fitzpatrick hits his tee shot on the 15th hole during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament at Bay Hill Club & Lodge. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

Credit to Matthew Fitzpatrick. He didn’t let a pair of missed cuts and zero top-10s in his first four Arnold Palmer Invitational starts get him down.

The Englishman’s rattled off three straight top-10s at this event and came as close as ever to his first PGA Tour title when he took solo second in 2019.

Fitzy was the 54-hole leader and shot 70-70-67-71 in ‘19 to finish two back of Francesco Molinari, who vaulted him with a Sunday 64.

Fitzpatrick followed with T-9th (70-75-75-69) in 2020 and T-10th (69-71-71-74) last year. He was third in the field in strokes gained putting (6.833) and seventh in SG off the tee (2.921) in 2021.

“I like that it’s quite penal off the tee and missing the greens,” Fitzpatrick was transcribed by ASAP Sports in 2017. “If you really hit it well tee to green you can shoot some good scores. And I enjoy playing courses like this, it’s a challenge.”

The 27-year-old’s only got six rounds measured for stats this season on the PGA Tour. Looking at last season, he was 15th in strokes gained off the tee thanks largely to coming in at 17th in driving accuracy (68.37%).

Fitzpatrick has teed it up just twice in 2022, but he’s made the most of it. He was T-6th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and T-10th at the WM Phoenix Open.

Going back to last fall, the former Northwestern Wildcat has made six cuts in a row between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. In that span, he won the Estella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters at historic Valderrama.

Bay Hill, Arnold Palmer Invitational, PGA
Mar 7, 2020; Orlando, Florida, USA; Sungjae Im hits from the bunker on the 17th hole during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament at Bay Hill Club & Lodge. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

It was surprising to see former Honda Classic champion Sungjae Im miss the cut there last week. At least his misfortune gave him more time to prepare for another event where he’s found success.

The South Korean hasn’t won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but he’s cashed a lot of big checks at Bay Hill nonetheless.

Playing annually since 2019, Im’s finished T-3rd (71-69-71-68), third (70-69-74-73), and T-21st (69-70-72-76). He was just three and two shots, respectively, off the lead in his third-place finishes.

Im had a good grasp of the Bermuda greens last year to finish second in the field in strokes gained putting (7.6). Conversely, he had a rough week on approach and with his short game, which are often his strengths.

The 23-year-old is third on the PGA Tour in SG around the green (.581) and 11th in greens in regulation (74.23%). On approach from 200-plus yards, he’s 11th in proximity (44’8”).

More fun stats with Im: He’s first in total hole outs (13) and, despite ranking 70th in SG putting (.182), he’s second in putting from eight feet (76.92%). He’s 112th from nine feet (41.38%), though.

Prior to Im’s rare MC at the Honda, he’s been rolling along nicely since winning his second PGA Tour title last fall at the Shriners Children’s Open.

He owns four top-10s in the 2021-22 season as well as a T-11th. All but two finishes have been inside the top 33.

The next step in Im’s career is playing better at the majors. Winning an elevated status event this week is a good way to work toward that goal.

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