Scottie Scheffler looks to add to his win total with his second victory of the year when he competes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Fla. He enters as the favorite at +310 from FanDuel. Scheffler, 29, has 20 career wins on the PGA Tour and has been the world's top-ranked player since March 27, 2022. He won the American Express Desert Classic on Jan. 25, finishing four strokes ahead of Jason Day, Ryan Gerard, Matt McCarty and Andrew Putnam.
This year's Arnold Palmer Invitational gets underway at 7:40 a.m. ET on Thursday. The tournament, with a $20 million purse, will be played on a par-72 course measuring 7,466 yards.
Besides Scheffler, other favorites include Rory McIlroy (+1000), Tommy Fleetwood (+2000), Matt Fitzpatrick (+2200) and Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele, both at +2500. Russell Henley is the defending tournament champion, winning the 2025 event by one stroke over Morikawa. Henley is +3300 this year in the PGA odds.
Before making any 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational picks, you NEED to see the predictions and best bets from elite golf expert Brady Kannon.
Kannon is an elite golfing handicapper with more than 30 years of experience in the industry. He has called eight major winners since 2013 and hit six PGA winners, including 110-1 longshot Harris English at the Farmers Insurance Open, in 2025. Additionally, he's 26-19-4 on head-to-head bets since joining SportsLine. Anyone who followed his lead could have been WAY UP!
Now, Kannon has been digging into this week's field to find the best betting value and just locked in his best bets to back. He's fading Si Woo Kim (33-1 at BetMGM).
"Kim began the 2026 season scorching hot but has since cooled a bit in his last two starts, both Signature Events, finishing 45th at Pebble Beach and 34th at Riviera," Kannon said. "He was third earlier this year in Phoenix but historically, has not been exceptional at a course that seems to show correlated success to Bay Hill. Here in Orlando, Kim has missed the cut three times and hasn't ever finished better than 19th. We mentioned the connection to links golf and Royal Portrush. Kim missed the cut at Portrush at the 2019 Open Championship and again for The Open at Portrush last July. Over the last 24-rounds, Kim ranks 51st out of 72 players in this field in Hole Proximity from 200+ yards and 56th on the 450-500 yard Par 4s. I'm just not sure this course is the best fit for his game. I will be staying away for now and will try to find an attractive matchup to possibly go against him. Next week could be a very different story, where Kim is a former winner at The Players Championship."
Kannon has revealed his best bet, and it's a surprising golfer who returns over 50-1 and is a perfect course fit!
What are the best bets for the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational, and which massive longshot should you back? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Brady Kannon's best picks, all from the expert who nailed four winners last season!
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Written by Daniel Kohn
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