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Golf: Arnold Palmer Invitational Preview March 3-6


The PGA Tour roadshow will stay in Florida, but we are eagerly anticipating the start of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Thursday. For a prestigious event such as this, the field oozes class, and it includes a two-time FedEx Cup champion, and a few past champions, including Rory McIlroy.

Bay Hill is laden with danger in terms of tricky positions, although you imagine the likes of Viktor Hovland will be launching some monster tee shots into the stratosphere!

Anyway, we are more than happy to pick out three intriguing tips for you to explore this week.

Rory McIlroy to lay down an early Masters marker

We’re inching ever closer to the first Major of the season – The Masters – and with that, expectation levels ramp up, especially with McIlroy, who is still trying to complete the Career Slam. Nevertheless, McIlroy will want to lay down an early marker as preparations for Augusta continue.

After taking a week off, and sitting out The Honda Classic, McIlroy should be feeling refreshed and raring to go again. Of course, his putter needs to stay hot throughout the week, and he can’t afford to leave too many strokes out on the course.

While he is still searching for his first win of 2022, he’s had a couple of top-10 finishes, and he can turn on the style at any time. The Ulsterman won the Arnie Palmer Invitational four years ago by three strokes with a total score of -18, so he has fond memories of the course. Paddy Power is offering McIlroy shortish odds of 10/1 which could be worth backing.

Cameron Young to get off to a flyer

We had high hopes for Cameron Young last week, and although he didn’t end up in the winner’s circle at the Honda Classic, he will probably have been happy with a T16 spot, as he got off to a slow start.

Young has shown real maturity so far in 2022, and he’s certainly trending in the right direction. He doesn’t seem to be fazed by anything, and he’s one of these special breeds of golfers that have burst onto the scene and made an immediate impact.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him come racing out of the blocks, and you can get a long price of 70/1 with bet365 for Young to be the leader after the first round. If anything, the odds seem to be a little harsh, but you may thank us if this does materialise.

A Jon Rahm special

At Freebets, we do like to advertise some specials. We are waiting for Jon Rahm to hit top form, and he has had some near misses this season. We all know what he is capable of, and he has plenty of titles in him.

He could come up short at Bay Hill this week, but if you are feeling brave, then you may be tempted by this William Hill special – Rahm, Hovland and Hideki Matsuyama to all finish in the top 10. This is valued at 18/1, which could persuade you to part with your cash.