Quick look at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier

The legacy of the late great Arnold Palmer lives on in the PGA TOUR’s annual stop to Bay Hill Club and Lodge for the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard. This iconic part of the Florida swing aptly provides players the chance to come home with a flourish to claim a title and change their lives … this event has elevated status with a three-year win exemption among other great perks. Last season’s finish featured Rory McIlroy birdieing five of the last six holes to hold off the likes of Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau. We are almost guaranteed Disney level theatre just a few miles from Disneyworld itself. THE FLYOVER  If you want to make an Arnold Palmer like charge late you need to get after the par-5 16th hole. Despite McIlroy’s incredible surge the 16th is the only hole of the last five at Bay Hill that played under par over the last nine seasons! But despite the 24 eagles and 233 birdies on it last year it was actually a Tiger Woods snap hook out-of-bounds that was the lasting memory. You still have to execute … LANDING ZONE  Over the last three editions of the Arnold Palmer Invitational the par-4 18th – at 458 yards – has been the toughest hole on the course twice and the second toughest on the other occasion. If you want to get the classic red cardigan as a winner, you need to thread the needle off the tee so you’re not trying to carry the water on approach from the rough. Check out where all the tee shots landed last year. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Stewart Williams: “A cold start Wednesday morning with lows in the low 40s. Wind chill values will make it feel more like the mid 30s. Temperatures will struggle to warm into the low 60s for the afternoon which is 10-15 degrees below normal for this time of year. After another cold start Thursday morning, the warming trend begins during the afternoon with highs returning to the low 70s. Even warmer temperatures can be expected Friday through the weekend with highs in the 80s. Can’t rule out a few showers late in the day Sunday ahead of the next cold front moving into Northern Florida.� For the latest weather news from Orlando, Florida, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK I want to be more and more like Arnold. He kind of set the bar for what I want to do. It’s not just in the game of golf but leaving a legacy of changing people’s lives for the better. BY THE NUMBERS  11 – Number of former Rookies of the Year in the field in the week the PGA TOUR announced the award will be named after Arnold Palmer going forward. Daniel Berger (2015), Keegan Bradley (2011), Ernie Els (1994), Rickie Fowler (2010), Robert Gamez (1990), Chesson Hadley (2014), Charles Howell III (2001), Marc Leishman (2009), Vijay Singh (1993), Brandt Snedeker (2007) and Aaron Wise (2018) are all previous winners of the award while Els (1998 and 2010), Gamez (1990), Leishman (2017) and Singh (2007) are also former winners of the event. 62 – Number of PGA TOUR titles Arnold Palmer won in his career. Only four others have won more than the games greatest ambassador. 43 – Number of non-American players in the 123-man field who are looking to make it a fourth year in a row with a global player at the top pf the leaderboard. Jason Day, Marc Leishman and Rory McIlroy broke a run of four American wins prior. 8 – Number of winners (out of 12) who have gone on to make the TOUR Championship in the FedExCup era after taking care of business at Bay Hill. Tiger Woods won both the API and the FedExCup in 2009. SCATTERSHOTS Elevated Status: The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard honors Golf’s Greatest Ambassador as one of three elevated events on the PGA TOUR schedule which offers a heightened purse and a three-year exemption to the winner, instead of the two-year exemption awarded at other TOUR events (the other two elevated events are Jack Nicklaus’ the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide and Tiger Woods’ L.A. event, known as the Genesis Open on the 2018-19 TOUR schedule). Host Rose looking to go back-to-back: Justin Rose will make his first start on TOUR since his win at the Farmers Insurance Open. Rose is making his 10th consecutive start and 14th overall at Bay Hill where he has four top-10s in his last seven starts, including a third-place finish in 2018. Rose is one of three members of the Host Committee, assembled to honor Mr. Palmer by stepping into traditional tournament roles. Giving back: All proceeds from the tournament benefit the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation (formerly Arnie’s Army Charitable Foundation), which locally supports the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies. Arnie’s March Against Children’s Cancer, held on Tuesday afternoon, supports pediatric cancer research and clinical trials at the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. Aussie Omen: With THE PLAYERS Championship moving back to March this represents the first time since 2006 the Arnold Palmer Invitational is in the week prior to the annual pilgrimage to TPC Sawgrass. Back then the winner was Australian Rod Pampling. Given Jason Day and Marc Leishman are two of the last three champions at Bay Hill they might be feeling extra confident. Or perhaps the other Aussie in the field – Aaron Baddeley – might be one to watch.

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JACKSON, Miss, – The University of North Texas has since been bypassed by its larger in-state rivals, but the school was once known as the “Notre Dame of golf.â€� Led by future PGA TOUR winners Billy Maxwell and Don January, it won four consecutive NCAA titles in the middle of the 20th century. The leaderboard of the Sanderson Farms Championship harkens back to the Mean Green’s glory days. Sunday’s final group is comprised of a pair of former North Texas teammates. They both left homes in Latin America for the opportunity to play college golf in the suburbs of Dallas. Sebastian Munoz and Carlos Ortiz still live in Texas and hang out together when they’re home. They’re practice-round partners on the PGA TOUR. And now they’ll go head-to-head as they each seek their first PGA TOUR victory. RELATED: Tee times | Leaderboard Munoz, of Colombia, is 16 under par (70-67-63) after three rounds at the Country Club of Jackson. Mexico’s Ortiz is one shot back after shooting 65-71-65. “I’m going to have a great opportunity tomorrow,â€� Munoz said. “Just one shot at a time.â€� He and Ortiz showed Saturday how comfortable they are together, combining to shoot 16 under par while paired together in the third round. Munoz’s 63 was one stroke off the Country Club of Jackson’s course record. Ortiz shot 65. The Sanderson may be held in the heart of SEC country, but a crop of international players has risen to the top of the leaderboard one week after Chile’s Joaquin Niemann won the season-opening event. “That just validates that any of us can win,â€� Ortiz said. “Me, Joaquin, Sebastian, we play every practice round together. It’s a guy we know pretty well and he’s winning. It just gives you extra belief that if he can do it, I can do it.â€� South Korea’s Byeong Hun An is in third place, two shots off the lead, as he seeks to bolster his Presidents Cup candidacy. Australia’s Cameron Percy is another stroke back. Percy, who was a victim of Jonathan Byrd’s playoff ace at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open nine years ago, regained his TOUR card after fracturing his wrist earlier this year. Another South Korean who’s seeking one of Ernie Els’ captain’s picks is in fifth place. Sungjae Im recently won the PGA TOUR’s Rookie of the Year Award. Now he’s trying to win his first PGA TOUR title. He’s tied for fifth with four Americans: Harris English, J.T. Poston, George McNeill and Dominic Bozelli. They’re all 12 under. Among the top nine players on the leaderboard, only English, Poston and McNeill have PGA TOUR wins. Poston won last month’s Wyndham Championship, becoming the first player since Lee Trevino to win on TOUR while going bogey-free over 72 holes. It’s been seven years since McNeill won the second of his two PGA TOUR titles. English doesn’t have full status on the PGA TOUR this season, but his once-promising career seems to be headed in the right direction. In 2011, English won on the Korn Ferry Tour while still an amateur. He won on the PGA TOUR in the 2013 and 2014 seasons. He hasn’t won since, though. He leads the field in greens hit while ranking second in driving accuracy. He had similarly strong ballstriking at last week’s A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, where he finished T3. It was his best PGA TOUR finish since 2016. The Sanderson Farms Championship has favored first-time winners. The five previous tournaments at the Country Club of Jackson all went to players who had yet to win on the PGA TOUR. The tournament was held opposite the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in those years, though. This is the first year the tournament has its own date and the winner will receive 500 FedExCup points. One thing will likely remain the same, though. Another low score will be needed Sunday. No winner at the Country Club of Jackson has shot higher than 68 on Sunday.  Munoz has held the 54-hole lead once before in his PGA TOUR career, taking a two-shot lead into the final round of A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier two years ago. He shot 2-over 72 in the final round as Xander Schauffele collected his first PGA TOUR victory. He has one win on the Korn Ferry Tour, winning in his home country in three years ago. Ortiz had the best finish of his career at last year’s Sanderson Farms (T3). He was the Korn Ferry Tour’s Player of the Year five years ago after he won three times. His success was an inspiration to Munoz, showing him that they could succeed at the professional level. On Sunday, they’ll be both friend and foe.

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