Golf betting tips and free bets: Three picks for the Arnold Palmer including Rory McIlroy and 35/1 shot
NO Bryson DeChambeau at Bay Hill this week, and probably no-one else willing to take on the 370 yards carry over water on the par five sixth that brought the Mad Professor a couple of rousing invitations last year – and won him the title.
It should still be a high octane event though, with world No 1 Jon Rahm making his debut in this event, and spearheading a powerful European challenge at an course that seems to suit the foreign invaders.
Lee Westwood was only a shot away from becoming the sixth successive overseas winner of Arnold Palmer’s event – you have to go back to 2015 to find the last American winner before DeChambeau.
The winner that year was Matt Every, who was completing back-to-back victories at Arnie’s place. And who saw that coming?
I think the title could go to a non-American yet again this time, and I was tempted to put up three overseas players, before just giving Keith Mitchell the final nod ahead of 2020 winner Tyrrell Hatton.
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Arnold Palmer Invitational tips
Hot shot: Rory McIlroy, 12-1.
Very attractive odds for the 2018 Bay Hill winner, who has sandwiched four top ten finishes here around that victory. With the top eight rewarding each way backers, you have to love that sort of consistency.
McIlroy has yet to catch fire this year, but he should still have won in Desert Classic, only to make a hash of the easy 17th and then a complete dog’s dinner of the par five 18th in Dubai.
He looked close to recapturing his best form when he posted four sub-par rounds for another top ten at the Genesis Invitational a couple of weeks ago.
Back ‘home’ in Florida, and playing a course he clearly relishes, this could be the week when McIlroy starts to show he will be a force to reckon with in the Majors this year.
Mid price: Adam Scott, 35-1.
Fellow Aussies Jason Day and Marc Leishman have both scooped this title in the past few years, and Scott is in the sort of free-flowing mood that suggests the former Masters champion could add a coveted red cardigan to his green jacket.
Bay Hill has not exactly been a happy hunting ground for Scott, although he should have won here in 2014 when he took a three shot lead into the final round, only for a closing 76 to hand Every his first victory.
Scott has often seemed to tighten up with the victory line in sight, but there were clear signs that he is not beating up on himself so much these days when he posted back-to-back top tens in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
He looked like a man who expected to win again soon when he finished fourth at the Genesis a couple of weeks ago, closing with an eye-catching 66, and he could be in line for redemption after that 2014 shocker.
Long(ish) shot: Keith Mitchell, 45-1.
The man from Tennessee is probably not the most obvious pick to lead the home challenge, but the ‘Chattanooga Express’ has been steaming along to some impressive results recently.
Mitchell has finished outside the top 12 just once in his last six starts, and he would only have to improve marginally on his share of ninth at last week’s Honda Classic to repay each way interest.
He showed he is still heading in the right direction as he went a shot better every day last week, after opening with a 71, and his skill set looks ideal for tough tests like Bay Hill.
He finished in a share of fifth here a couple of years ago, which adds a tick in the horses for courses box.
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