- Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland — Even though McIlroy could not hold a three-stroke lead in the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship in his last outing, closing with a 74 that included only one birdie, his tie for third showed his game is rounding into shape with the Masters only three weeks away. He climbed back to No. 2 in the World Golf Rankings and has his eyes on No. 1 Jordan Spieth, having said he would like to be back on top by the time he gets to Augusta. McIlroy didn’t make his first appearance in the Arnold Palmer Invitational until last year, when he broke 70 only when he shot 66 at Bay Hill in round two on his way to a tie for 11th.
- Adam Scott, Australia — Following a week off, Scott will try to win his third consecutive start after opening the Florida swing with victories in the Honda Classic at PGA National and the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral. He is back to No. 6 in the World Golf Rankings after slipping to No. 19 early this year, and he is on a path to regain the top spot he held for 11 weeks in 2014. Scott is making his ninth start in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He seemed to be heading for a victory two years ago before closing with a 76 that left him solo third, two strokes behind winner Matt Every. The Aussie also tied for third in 2004, but he was seven shots behind champion Chad Campbell.
- Jason Day, Australia — Day waded into the PGA Tour season slowly after taking three months off to be with his wife after the birth of their second child. He is making his fifth start of the year, and the PGA champion needs to start ramping up his game with the Masters looming next month. The Aussie might not be that far off, having tied for 10th in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, tied for 11th in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and tied for 23rd in the WGC-Cadillac Championship, so he probably only needs more competitive reps. Day is making his fifth start in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he posted his best result last year, opening with a 69 and closing with a 68 to tie for 17th.
- Henrik Stenson, Sweden — The big Swede’s best golf this season came on the European Tour, where he tied for third in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and tied for sixth in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. His best results on the PGA Tour were ties for 11th in both the WGC-HSBC Champions and the Valspar Championship. Next week, he is skipping the WGC-Dell Match Play that he won in 2007 because he doesn’t want to play more than three consecutive weeks following arthroscopic knee surgery in January. Stenson is making his eighth start in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and has placed in the top 10 the past three years — tying for eighth in 2013, tying for fifth in 2014 and finishing second last year, one stroke behind Matt Every.
- Justin Rose, England — One of several European players who lives in the Orlando area and has a home game in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Rose is playing in the tournament at Bay Hill for the 11th time. His best result was solo second in 2013, when he held the lead after starting 65-70 before playing the weekend in 72-70 to wind up two strokes behind champion Tiger Woods. Rose also tied for third in 2011 and tied for eighth in 2006. Rose, No. 8 in the world, needs to step it up a bit with the Masters approaching because his only finish in the top 10 in four starts this year was a tie for sixth in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. However, he is not that far off, having tied for 16th in the Northern Trust Open and tied for 17th in the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
- Ryan Moore, United States — One of the streakier players on the PGA Tour, Moore seems to be starting one of his hot runs, having finished 10th in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera and third in the Valspar Championship on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook in his past two starts after missing the cut in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. He has four top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour since the start of the 2015-16 season and has finished out of the top 25 only twice in seven outings. Moore is making his seventh appearance in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. His best result at Bay Hill was a tie for fourth in 2012, although he finished eight strokes behind winner Tiger Woods.
- Hideki Matsuyama, Japan — Matsuyama’s bid to climb into the top 10 of the World Golf Rankings was slowed when he withdrew because of a hip flexor injury after shooting 71 in round one of the Honda Classic at the start of the Florida swing. He returned two weeks ago and was not sharp while finishing in a tie for 35th in the WGC-Cadillac Championship, shooting 81 in round two. He hopes a week off has him back in form for his second start in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, in which he tied for 21st last year. Matsuyama, No. 14 in the rankings, won the Waste Management Phoenix Open in a playoff over Rickie Fowler and tied for 11th in the Northern Trust Open before being thrown off track by the injury.
- Brandt Snedeker, United States — Another player coming off an injury, Snedeker pulled out of the WGC-Cadillac Championship two weeks ago after shooting 76 in round one. He said his rib problem was not as serious as the chronic trouble he has had in the past. He ranks third in the 2015-16 FedEx Cup standings thanks to a victory in the Farmers Insurance Open, a playoff loss to Fabian Gomez of Argentina at the Sony Open in Hawaii and a tie for third in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. This is his 10th consecutive start in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. His best finish was a tie for eighth in 2014, but he also has five results in the top 25, including a tie for 13th last year.
- Zach Johnson, United States — Once a resident of Central Florida before moving across the state line to St. Simons, Ga., Johnson will tee it up this week for the 13th consecutive year in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. His best result at Bay Hill was solo third in 2008, three shots behind winner Tiger Woods, and he has three other finishes in the top 10, including a tie for ninth last year. Johnson hasn’t won since claiming his second major title last July in the Open Championship at St. Andrews, and his tie for ninth at the Sony Open is his only top-10 finish this year. It is time for the 2007 Masters champion to get it going before he heads to Augusta National next month.
- Matt Every, United States — There is something about Bay Hill that brings out the best in Every, at least in the past two years, when he has claimed his only victories on the PGA Tour in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The former University of Florida star sank a 17-foot birdie putt on the final hole last year to beat Henrik Stenson by one stroke, and the year before he held off Keegan Bradley to also win by one shot. He is 32 under par on the course in those two years after being 14 over in his previous four starts. Every has either missed the cut or withdrawn from five of his nine events this season, with his best finish a tie for 24th in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, but he wasn’t playing well before he won last year either.
–Courtesy of The Sports Xchange, TSX Golf Editor Tom LaMarre
