Hello RotoBaller PGA crew! It's great to be back with you guys and I appreciate you joining us here at RotoBaller for your PGA DFS research. As we head into the heart of the Florida Swing, we travel to beautiful Bay Hill Club & Lodge for one of the best events on the schedule, the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Can't wait to dive in!
In this article, we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the API. While it's impossible to hit on every player, we'll touch on some different plays across all price ranges, breaking the groups down into "High", "Mid", and "Low" price options that are worth considering.
Like always, the purpose of this piece is to help you put together your optimal daily fantasy golf lineups for FanDuel, whether that be from a GPP perspective or a cash-game mentality. Be sure to also read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS and betting articles to help you win big!
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Arnold Palmer Invitational - PGA DFS Overview
The Course: Bay Hill Club & Lodge
Par 72 - 7,466 Yards, Greens: Bermuda, Designed By: Dick Wilson & Joe Lee (Extensive Renovations by Arnold Palmer)
Arnold Palmer fell in love with this course over 50 years ago and it still holds up in the modern era. Like lots of courses we see during the Florida Swing, water and sand are prominent at Bay Hill. It's long at just over 7,400 yards, with some tee shots requiring lay-ups and a fairly penal rough guarding the fairways.
While Bryson DeChambeau's victory last year reminds us that length is always a huge advantage, this is, without doubt, a second-shot golf course and those approaches often require longer irons than we normally see on the PGA Tour schedule. One of the reasons Tiger Woods dominated at Bay Hill throughout the years is his phenomenal iron game from 200-plus yards out. We usually see this tournament play as one of the 10-most difficult courses on the Tour schedule, but while it's hard, it is still possible for golfers to go low here.
For an in-depth breakdown of this week's course, check out RotoBaller's PGA Premium Course Breakdown by Josh Bennett!
Let's Look At The Stats
Stat | Bay Hill | Tour Average |
Driving Distance | 276 | 282 |
Driving Accuracy | 65% | 62% |
GIR Percentage | 60% | 65% |
Scrambling Percentage | 57% | 57% |
Average Three-Putts Per Round | 0.56 | 0.55 |
Key Stats
- SG: Approach
- Proximity - 200+ Yards
- SG: Off The Tee
- SG: Par-5s
- SG: Par-4s (400-450 & 450-500 Yards)
- Course History
- SG: Putting (Bermuda)
Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for FanDuel (PGA DFS)
We have tons of great weekly PGA articles, DFS analysis, tools and DFS advice. Be sure to read our other fantastic articles regarding this week's event including DFS lineup picks for DraftKings/FanDuel, betting advice and DFS prop picks.
High-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays
Rory McIlroy ($11,900)
Bay Hill has been extremely kind to Rory McIlroy over the years. McIlroy won the API in 2018 and has been an annual mainstay atop the leaderboard, posting four additional top-10s since 2017. He leads this week's field in both career scoring average (70.04) and average SG: Total per round (2.51) in the API.
There were undoubtedly some ups and downs for him in 2021, but he still left the calendar year with a pair of wins (Wells Fargo & CJ Cup) and positive momentum. It's carried over into 2022, as he narrowly missed a playoff last month in Dubai and heads to Bay Hill off a solid T10 outing at the Genesis Invitational. Like Augusta and Quail Hollow, Bay Hill seems to always bring out the best in Rory and he possesses clear-cut tournament-winning upside this week.
Scottie Scheffler ($11,700)
When considering Scottie Scheffler's output this year, you could make the argument that he's playing as well as anyone in the world at the moment. The Texan picked up the first PGA Tour victory of his young career at the WM Phoenix Open and followed up with an impressive T7 in the Genesis Invitational at Riviera.
During his short time on Tour, Scheffler has already proven himself to be "the total package" due to his elite combination of length and short-game touch. His track record on lengthy, difficult golf courses is impressive and he recorded a T15 in his lone career appearance at Bay Hill. Over his last 12 rounds, he grades out first in this elite field in SG: Total and he has the type of complete skill set that has historically led to success in the API.
Matt Fitzpatrick ($11,200)
The light-hitting Englishman might seem out of place in comparison to our first couple of highlighted players, but Matt Fitzpatrick's form and Bay Hill track record indicate that he deserves serious consideration on this DFS slate. Fitzpatrick comes into the week with trending form that dates back to a win at the Andalucia Masters in October and a runner-up finish in Dubai as a follow-up. He's also off to a fast start in 2022, as he's scored top-10 finishes and gained a combined 20 strokes total over his two U.S. starts this year at Pebble Beach & Phoenix.
His track record in the API is elite. He's run off three straight top-10 finishes in this event with a runner-up result two years ago standing out as the highlight. The Englishman's mastery of fast Bermuda greens has been key to his Bay Hill success. He grades out third among this week's entrants in career SG: Putting at Bay Hill and seventh in overall Bermuda putting over his last 24 total rounds.
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Mid-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays
Keith Mitchell ($10,200)
Keith Mitchell was a favorite play of mine for last week's Honda Classic and I'm still on board this week for the API. Mitchell posted a T9 last week at PGA National and it marked his fourth top-12 finish of 2022. He's now gained strokes T2G in four of his five starts this year and grades out third in this week's elite field in both SG: Ball Striking & SG: OTT over his last 12 rounds. In addition to the hot form, Mitchell also boasts a strong resume at Bay Hill. He's notched top-six finishes in two of his three career API appearances. The UGA alum might not have the star power of some others on this week's slate, but there's sneaky upside here, as he brings sizzling form to a golf course that has proven to be a tremendous fit for his game.
Max Homa ($10,100)
Quietly putting together an elite resume on some of golf's toughest courses, Max Homa deserves serious consideration this week on this "big boy" Bay Hill layout. Two of Homa's wins on the PGA Tour have come at Quail Hollow and Riviera, not exact comp courses for Bay Hill, but tracks that are definitely of the same ilk. The Californian has also found success in the API specifically, going T10-T24 in his two previous appearances. He's logged top-15 finishes in three of four 2022 starts and has combined to gain 8.7 strokes T2G over his last two outings. This represents a really nice blend of current form and course fit.
Low-Priced FanDuel DFS Players
Chris Kirk ($9,300)
I selfishly hate that Chris Kirk was in serious contention last week at the Honda, as his TV time at PGA National will likely dramatically increase his ownership on this slate. Oh well...I'm still extremely fond of "Captain Kirk" this week, especially when we consider this value-packed $9.3k price tag. The UGA alum has been rock-solid to start the year, gaining strokes T2G in every one of his 2022 starts. His breakout T7 last week came on the heels of an under-the-radar T14 in Phoenix. He brings that form to a Bay Hill layout on which he's performed at a high level in the past. Kirk has run off three straight top-15 finishes in the API and over half of his nine career starts at Bay Hill have been T16s or better. Despite my fear that he'll be popular, he stands out as one of my favorite salary savers on this slate and he's a terrific option for those focusing on single-entry or cash builds this week.
Cameron Young ($9,100)
There are several viable salary savers on this slate, many of whom are proven performers on this golf course. That said, I'm willing to gamble a bit with Cameron Young, a player that will be making his API debut this week. Sure, there are legitimate question marks as to how he will handle this tough Bay Hill layout, but Young undoubtedly pops from a pure upside perspective. The rookie grades out third in this elite field in SG: Ball Striking over his last 12 rounds and - perhaps more importantly - ranks sixth in the field in Proximity from 200+ yards. It's tough to put a price on the ability to go low on difficult golf courses, an ability that Young has demonstrated on multiple occasions over the past month, with rounds of 64 at Torrey South, 62 at Riviera, and a Sunday 65 last week at PGA National being just a few of his noteworthy accomplishments this year.
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