English
EspañolORLANDO, Fla. — World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is will be a tough out at Bay Hill, but an elite 72-player field is sure to challenge the 2022 and 2024 champion at this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Here are five players to watch during the tournament:
Russell Henley
The defending champion and world No. 7 is coming off a missed cut at the Genesis Invitational, but he has three top-20 finishes during his other three starts in 2026. Bay Hill has recently brought out Henley’s best, thanks to his pinpoint ball-striking and clutch short game, highlighted by a pivotal chip-in for eagle on the par-5 16th hole in 2025. A fourth-place finish in 2024 and tie for 13th in 2022 followed three missed cuts and finishes outside the top 40 in his first five starts here.
Collin Morikawa
Arguably the game’s best iron player picked up his first victory since the 2023 Zozo Championship at last month’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The 29-year-old followed that with a tie for seventh during the Genesis at Riviera Country Club. Bay Hill may feel like unfinished business for Morikawa after a dispiriting runner-up finish in 2025. A four-shot swing on holes 14-16 turned the tide in what was his fourth second-place finish since his Zozo win.
Tommy Fleetwood
The 35-year-old Englishman’s Tour Championship victory was his first PGA Tour win and proved popular among his peers and galleries alike. Fleetwood arrives in good form after a T-4 at Pebble Beach and T-7 at Riviera. A tie for 11th at the 2025 API felt familiar to Fleetwood. Prior to missing the cut in 2024 following a second-round 80, he had recorded three top-10 finishers and another top-25 in his six previous trips to Bay Hill.
Justin Rose
The ageless 45-year-old Englishman picked up his 13th win on tour during January’s Farmers Insurance Open. Ranked fifth in greens in regulation (75.64%) and inside the top 20 in approach from 175-200 and 225-250 yards, Rose has the game to attack the brutish 7,466-yard layout — and history on his side. A tie for eighth in 2025 was his sixth top-10 finish in 20 API starts and foreshadowed a career renaissance after four missed cuts and a WD in his five previous visits.
Chris Gotterup
A two-time winner in five starts this season, Gotterup will make his API debut. Expected to be a force when he turned pro is 2022, the brawny 6-foot, 210-pounder can overpower courses and close when in contention. The 26-year-old still seeks consistency. He missed 22 cuts in 54 starts across 2024-25 but has reached the weekend in all but one start in 2026, most recently missing the cut at the Genesis.