The 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational marks the first of two massive events on the schedule ahead of next week's Players Championship. The PGA Tour returns to Arnie's Place at the iconic Bay Hill Club & Lodge for the third Signature Event of the year.
Like each of the last two Signature Events over the last four weeks, the Arnold Palmer Invitational has attracted an elite field with all ten of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking set to take on one of the most challenging venues on the PGA Tour schedule.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama, and defending Arnold Palmer Invitational champion Russell Henley are just several of the big names who are set to tee it up this week.
Following in the footsteps of the Genesis Invitational two weeks ago, the Arnold Palmer Invitational is one of the three Signature Events on the schedule to feature a cut at the halfway point, with the top 50 players and ties in this week's 72-man field advancing to play the weekend at Bay Hill (Par-72, 7,466 yards).
Who will follow in the footsteps of Collin Morikawa and Jacob Bridgeman and win the third Signature Event of 2026? Let's get into the picks and predictions for API.
2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational picks and predictions
Top 10 pick for the Arnold Palmer Invitational: Pierceson Coody (+355)
Coody has been in phenomenal form so far this season, having finished outside of the top 18 on a leaderboard only one time since the season-opening Sony Open in Hawaii in January. Runner-up at the Farmers, Coody comes into this week off a T16 finish at the Genesis Invitational two weeks ago. He finished T14 in his debut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2023.
Sleeper pick for the Arnold Palmer Invitational: Sepp Straka (+5800)
Following a run of poor results at Arnie's Place, Straka finally found something at this event last year when he notched a T5 finish, which was part of an exceptional run in Signature Events last year for Sepp, which included a win (Truist Championship) and five top-13 finishes in eight events. He comes into this year's API with some momentum following a T2 finish at Pebble Beach in the year's first Signature Event two starts ago.
Pick to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational: Collin Morikawa (+2700)
Morikawa returns to Bay Hill this week after narrowly missing out here a year ago when finishing runner-up to winner Russell Henley. Collin already has a win under his belt in 2026 after winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last month, and he comes into this year's API following a T7 result in the year's second Signature Event at Riviera two weeks ago.
He is playing exceptional golf this year and ranks fifth in the field in both approach and tee to green over his last twenty rounds, per Data Golf. Revenge could be on the cards this week for Morikawa after his narrow miss here a year ago.
Pick to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational: Tommy Fleetwood (+1850)
Following a relatively slow start to his year on the DP World Tour, Tommy Fleetwood has been exceptional in his first two starts on the PGA Tour, finishing T4 at Pebble Beach and T7 at the Genesis Invitational in his most recent outing.
He has finished T20 or better in three of his last five starts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and came close here in 2019, tying for third. After winning the Tour Championship last August, Fleetwood could be on the verge of a special season in 2026.
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