To borrow a phrase from Stuart Scott, Arnold Palmer was cooler than the other side of the pillow.
ORLANDO — To borrow a phrase from the late ESPN host Stuart Scott, Arnold Palmer was cooler than the other side of the pillow. So is the gear on sale at this year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational in the merchandise shop as well as the club’s permanent pro shop at Bay Hill Club & Lodge.
Palmer’s multi-color logo is ever-present and used to great effect. Kudos go to Puma, who have delivered another unique line for tournament week, from shirts to hats to shoes.
But there’s a great mix of Ahead and Imperial hats and the pro shop features everything from Peter Millar to Johnny-O and women’s favorite, Ibkul. High marks across the board but nothing tops the head covers in my book. Here’s some of the best stuff available at the API merchandise shop and Bay Hill pro shop.
“It’s been a little bit frustrating so far this year.”
ORLANDO, Fla. — Six months after Viktor Hovland won the Tour Championship, the FedEx Cup and a bundle of cash, he fired one coach, hired another and set off in pursuit of flushing his irons with the consistency and precision he “cherishes.”
“It’s been a little bit frustrating so far this year,” said Hovland, who has yet to record a top-10 finish in three starts this season, speaking at his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. “Feel like my swing hasn’t been quite as good as it has been in previous years, so it’s been, felt like I’ve tried to prioritize just being home and practicing, putting a lot of work in. Don’t really want to fight through something while playing, it’s just not that fun, and I don’t see the point of it.”
That explains why Hovland withdrew from the WM Phoenix Open after finishing T-58 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which was reduced to 54 holes in February.
What’s harder to explain is his musical chairs among instructors – from Jeff Smith to Joe Mayo and now taking his tips from former Tour pro Grant Waite.
“I’m a very curious guy. I like to ask questions,” Hovland said. “Sometimes when you ask a question and you get some answers, that leads you down a different path and opens up some new questions and you pursue a different path. I just want to kind of see where it goes. I always like to improve and expand my knowledge, and it just happened to lead me down to Grant Waite.”
Hovland is 26 years old and the winner of six Tour titles. He first played the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in 2020 after winning the U.S. Amateur. He’s finished tied for second and tied for 10th the last two seasons. When asked to describe what has been off with his game, he said, “It’s just the mechanics of the swing. Just haven’t been able to hit the shots that I want to.”
And that matters to Hovland almost as much as his score.
“I guess that’s kind of the insane part of my brain is that I just enjoy flushing a golf shot,” he said. “Obviously, we’re out here to compete and win tournaments, but I really just cherish being able to hit the shots exactly the way I want to. I think it’s a better predictor of how you’re going to play in the future.”
Hovland finished the 2022-23 season, during which he also won in May at the Memorial, with back-to-back wins at the BMW Championship, where he shot a final-round 61, and at the Tour Championship, and followed with a starring role in Europe’s Ryder Cup victory. So, parting ways with Mayo, who he credits with helping him improve his short game, made for an odd decision (not that his ball striking had many holes when he departed Smith for Mayo). Hovland clearly isn’t a proponent of the old saying that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
“When you’re seeing a shot and your swing is not producing those shots, it becomes very tough to compete, especially at this level,” Hovland said, noting that he had been playing defensive golf instead of swinging with confidence. So, he’s spent countless hours reviewing old swings, especially from 2019 when he first turned pro as well as early 2021, which he tabbed as when he was swinging it best.
Viktor Hovland of Norway talks with Luke Donald of England during the pro-am ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard at Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Golf Course on March 06, 2024 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
“Kind of seeing the evolution of my swing. It’s very interesting,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of multiple different patterns.”
Hovland’s swing may remain a work-in-progress — “I’m just pressuring the ground a little bit differently,” he explained matter-of-factly — but his accurate driving and mid-iron excellence is why he’s usually in the hunt at Arnie’s Place. The question remains: Will he have enough confidence to make the shots he’s capable of in crunch time?
“If I can stand on the range or on a golf course, see a shot and execute that shot, that gives me confidence,” he said. “The most important thing is that you see the shots that you’re hitting and you have belief that you’re going to do that repeatedly.”
The 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational gets underway Thursday at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida. It’s the second stop of four on the PGA Tour’s Florida Swing, and it’s the latest signature event on the schedule.
Most of the top players in the world will be there, including past champions Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, defending champ Kurt Kitayama and others.
That was the question proposed to numerous Tour players ahead of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida. The PGA Tour posted a video a little more than a minute long on its social media accounts Wednesday, and it led to some fun answers.
Up first was Rory McIlroy, who said he thought it was Sam Ryder. Also asked the question were Tom Kim, Max Homa, Ludvig Aberg and Xander Schauffele, among numerous others.
The name that popped up the most? Take a minute and watch the hilarious video below to find out:
The purse at the API is $20 million with $3.6 million going to the winner.
It’s time for the latest signature event on the PGA Tour schedule.
The 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational gets underway Thursday at Bay Hill in Orlando. Kurt Kitayama is the defending champion, but he’ll have to defend his title against most of the top players in the world, like No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, No. 2 Rory McIlroy and numerous others.
From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the first round of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational. All times listed are ET.
“Once we get to the majors, it will be really fun to have us all back together.”
Will Zalatoris is slowly gaining his form back.
The 27-year-old made his return to the golf world in December at the Hero World Challenge after missing most of back year following back surgery. In his latest start at the Genesis Invitational, he finished T-2, and he has slowly been trending in the right direction in all four starts this year.
He has gone MC, T-34. T-13 and T-2. He heads into the Arnold Palmer Invitational with plenty of momentum to take on Bay Hill in Orlando, and the tournament means a bit more to him with his connections to The King.
“Even though I never got to meet (Arnold Palmer), the guy’s meant a lot to me personally and my career and led me to Wake Forest,” Zalatoris said. “And even though it’s been a lot of — the guy’s meant a lot to my career — I met my wife at Wake Forest. So it’s just kind of a fun week to come here and spend some time with Amy (Saunders) and the family.”
In three starts at the API, Zalatoris’ best finish is a T-10 in 2021, his debut at the event.
As far as finding his form, Zalatoris said he thinks his body is ahead of schedule, and he’s slowly seeing his speed come back.
But the most interesting thing he said Tuesday in his pre-tournament press conference was in regard to the Official World Golf Ranking. Zalatoris was asked about the competition on the PGA Tour this season since the average ranking of winners (not including Nick Dunlap) is 73.
“Yeah, the competition is obviously very stiff, there’s no question about it,” Zalatoris said. “We’ve had quite a few first-time winners on Tour this year. You’ve got some tenured guys that are contending week in, week out. The official World Golf Ranking is what it is right now.”
And quickly, a follow-up was asked after Zalatoris’ answer regarding the OWGR. How viable is the ranking system, which Tuesday made further headlines after LIV Golf withdrew its application for points.
“You know, it kind of is what it is,” Zalatoris said. “You see what Joaquin (Niemann)’s done this year, and he’s 73rd in the world. I’m not a guy who is on the policy board or involved with those rankings, but the guy’s played some really good golf. I think, you know, having to get a special exemption from Augusta, you know, it’s just, there’s some really good players, and there’s some guys that have gone around the world and played really good golf and I think that’s something that, once we get to the majors, it will be really fun to have us all back together. But, I know that that’s kind of the utopian goal for all of us right now is to have the best players in the world play week in, week out.”
In the discourse between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, plenty of conversation has revolved around world ranking points. Only four LIV players are ranked in the top 50, with three of those having won majors in the past two years. Niemann, who has won two of the first three LIV events of the year, is in two of the four majors (Masters and PGA Championship) in 2024 thanks to special exemptions and a third (Open Championship) thanks to a win on the DP World Tour.
However, Zalatoris wants the best players to play together every week again, even if he believes most of them still play for the PGA Tour.
“We’ll see what happens going forward,” Zalatoris said. “I don’t have the fix for it. I know some guys have voiced their opinions on it. I like staying out of that stuff. Right now, it’s in an interesting position, I’ll leave it at that.”
StrackaLine offers a hole-by-hole course guide to Bay Hill and the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.
Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, site of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard on the PGA Tour, opened in 1961 with a design by Dick Wilson. Arnold Palmer took over the property on lease in 1970, bought it in 1975 and made adjustments to the course multiple times over the following decades.
Bay Hill will play to 7,466 yards with a par of 72. The layout is one of the toughest on the PGA Tour each year.
Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the pros face this week at Bay Hill.
The field is nearly set for the PGA Tour’s fourth signature event of the season, the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando.
Countless stars will tee off Thursday in the Tour’s second stop of the Florida Swing, including world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, No. 2 Rory McIlroy, No. 4 Viktor Hovland, No. 5 Xander Schauffele, No. 6 Patrick Cantlay, No. 7 Wyndham Clark, No. 8 Max Homa, No. 9 Matt Fitzpatrick and No. 10 Brian Harman.
Defending champion Kurt Kitayama has made the weekend in all five of his starts this year, highlighted by a tie for eighth at the WM Phoenix Open.
