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 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.
Sam Thomas/Orlando Sentinel
Tommy Fleetwood hits the ball out of a bunker at the 18th hole of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 7, 2021 at Bay Hill Club and Lodge. (Sam Thomas/Orlando Sentinel)
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.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com.