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DraftKings PGA: 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational picks and analysis

By Benjamin Main

ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 15: Tiger Woods plays his shot from the seventh tee during the first round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented By MasterCard at Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 15, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 15: Tiger Woods plays his shot from the seventh tee during the first round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented By MasterCard at Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 15, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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ORLANDO, FL – MARCH 15: Tiger Woods plays his shot from the seventh tee during the first round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented By MasterCard at Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 15, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

DraftKings PGA: 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational Picks and Analysis

How about that Honda Classic finish! It had everything! Sungjae Im posted a -6 and the final group was right there until water balls on the 18th. Just food for thought for the PGA tour: every tournament should end in a reachable par 5 surrounded by water. That was fun! I definitely thought Fleetwood was going to birdie the final hole to force a playoff. Water-ball would have been very low on outcomes that I could have predicted.

The PGA Tour stays in Florida, making the quick trip north to Orlando for the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Bay Hill Club and Lodge has a rich tradition with this tournament, so we do not have a shortage of course history. Its long (7,419 yards), and always plays pretty difficult on the par 4’s. 4 par 5’s (par 72) make the course a little more score-able,  however big numbers are always lurking. If the wind picks up, the course can be a nightmare. The comparisons with this tournament and the Honda Classic are fair, but this course plays easier due to the par 5’s, less wind, and the greens are very faster. The field is also much stronger this week.

In 2019, we saw Francesco Molinari get crazy hot with the flat stick to post a 12 under, holding off Matthew Fitzpatrick and taking home the hardware. The 2018 edition of the Arnold Palmer Invitational saw Rory McIlroy also get crazy hot with the flat stick in the final round, blitzing the field by 3 strokes. DeChambeau, Rose, Stenson and Tiger rounded out the top 5.

Ball-striking is going to be the most important stat to look at this week for the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Crisp irons on approach and when clubbing down off-the-tee are pertinent on this course. The rough is not a major penalty, but the water lining a lot of these greens and fairways is. I will lean on golfers who played last week at the Honda, but it does not matter in my algorithm as much as some tournaments.

Key Stats

Approach Gained

Ball-Striking Gained

Par 5 Scoring Gained

Fast Greens Gained

Bermuda Grass Gained

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