Power Rankings: Arnold Palmer Invitational

Depending on your exposure, fusion might be most familiar as the scientific process in which multiple particles come together. You may also think of it as when jazz met rock and roll. Or maybe the winner of the word association is the popular sedan. With Tiger Woods performing as well as he has in 2018, we have to wonder if back surgeons are getting flooded with inquiries on another application: fusion surgery. Then there are the folks who play fantasy golf and lean on the fusion of current form with course history to identify value. Lo and behold, Woods is the father of all synergies at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. With eight victories at Bay Hill Golf Club and Lodge, his margin over Vijay Singh in second place on the tournament’s all-time money list is more than $2 million greater than The Big Fijian’s total. Despite Woods’ incredible success at Bay Hill, he’s seeing the four-year-old renovation for the first time this week. Scroll past the ranking for more on how Palmer’s beloved test has matched up in the 120-man invitational. First appearance at Bay Hill since 2013 title, his fourth in last five trips. Tee-to-green game was the primary foundation of last week’s T2 at Copperhead. Putting was already strong. In the process of a T5 at the Valspar, ranked third in strokes gained: putting with highest recorded clip over four rounds since winning 2011 BMW. Five top 15s at Bay Hill since 2011. Just his third start of 2018. Chased Farmers title with a T2 at Pebble Beach. Winner at Bay Hill in 2016. Currently leading the PGA TOUR in strokes gained: putting. A regular leaderboard presence. Leads the TOUR in birdies-or-better percentage after going for the green. Fourth in adjusted scoring. T10 in Bay Hill debut last year. Continues to excel with his first PGA TOUR card with a P2, a solo third and three more top 25s since late January. Slots third in both adjusted scoring and the all-around. All three paydays in six starts at Bay Hill were top 20s. Now rested from a T5 at the WGC-Mexico where he led the field in total distance of putts holed. Five top fives in 2017-18! First Power Rankings since the WGC-HSBC in October. Opened Florida Swing with T13 at the Honda. Added a T16 at the Valspar. Three top 15s at Bay Hill; T12 in his last in 2016. Prevailed by six at the Asian Development Tour’s stop in Brunei on Saturday. Two wins in last four starts. T5 at WGC-Mexico in between. T6 in both prior starts at Bay Hill. Save the stumble at PGA National (MC), he’s just as hot as he was at this time last year when he placed T4 in his API debut. Third-place finishes in two of last three starts.   Wouldn’t mind tighter form upon arrival for his title defense, but he’s averaged 69.625 on his last eight rounds at Bay Hill. Currently seventh in birdies-or-better percentage. Travels after fading to solo sixth at the Hero Indian Open where he led after both of the first two rounds. Three top 15s in last four starts worldwide. T17-T7 in last two APIs. Italian stallion for Bay Hill with three top 10s and a T17 (2015) in the last four editions. Ranked fourth in strokes gained: tee-to-green en route to a T25 at WGC-Mexico. Relatively quiet opening to 2018 mirrors his track record at Bay Hill. In six prior trips, both of his two top 25s among five cuts made are top 15s. Solo 12th last year. Finally reemerged on the leaderboard at Copperhead (T2) where he led the field in strokes gained: approach. Appearing at Bay Hill for the third time, his first since 2014. Among the notables cut at Copperhead, but he’s been a force at Bay Hill. Five straight top 15s punctuated by top fives from 2014-16. Last year’s MC was an anomaly.  RANK PLAYER COMMENT POWER RANKINGS: ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Bubba Watson, Zach Johnson and Kevin Chappell will be among the notables covered in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider.  This is the 40th edition of the API at Bay Hill. No course could claim to have evolved as much as the stock par 72 in Orlando. The latest sweeping modifications greeted the 2015 field with new Celebration bermudagrass on the fairways and TifEagle Bermuda on the greens (which are not overseeded).  If it can be accepted that three years of play and data are required before attaching identity and expectations to any course after a renovation, then Bay Hill has hit the bull’s-eye. Last year’s scoring average of 72.890 was a four-year high, but moderate-to-gusty winds challenged the field in the first and final rounds. The bottom line is that the course rewards all strengths upon execution. Consider that the leaders in distance of all drives (Rory McIlroy), fairways hit (Adam Hadwin), greens in regulation (champion Marc Leishman), proximity to the hole (McIlroy) and scrambling (Hadwin) all finished inside the top six on the leaderboard.  Leishman’s pace of 11-under 277 was the highest in six years. As referenced above, he got the job done by eliminating the need to scramble more than anyone else, but he also ranked second in strokes gained: putting. Not surprisingly given the value of par, the Aussie also co-led in bogey avoidance in which eight of the 11 golfers who finished inside the top 10 on the leaderboard ranked inside the top 10 for the tournament.  While the absence of dozens of trees felled by Hurricane Irma last September may be noticeable to eyes familiar with the property, the only relevant change to gameplay at Bay Hill since last year occurred beside the green of the par-3 second hole. The bank in between it and the creek isn’t as severe. And despite numerous upgrades, the course will tip at 7,419 yards for the eighth straight year.  Terrific weather is on tap throughout the tournament. Gradually warming daytime highs into the low 80s by Sunday will be accompanied by light breezes and primarily cloudless skies.  The winner will earn a three-year PGA TOUR exemption as well as berths into the next three editions of THE PLAYERS.  ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE  PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton will be filing his usual staples leading up to this week’s event. Look for the following columns this week.  MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings  TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider, Facebook Live  WEDNESDAY: One & Done  * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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