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Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau plans to return to Bay Hill after navigating a few injuries through the early part of the 2021-22 season. He’s joined by a field full of the game’s biggest names include two-time FedExCup champion and past Arnold Palmer Invitational winner Rory McIlroy and world No. 1 Jon Rahm. FIELD NOTES: Bryson is back. DeChambeau, who won the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, has been battling some injuries early this season. His agent, Brett Falkoff, told PGATOUR.COM that DeChambeau will “continue to rehab” and is hopeful to compete … Recent winners who are returning to Bay Hill include Rory McIlroy – a winner already this season – along with Tyrrell Hatton and Marc Leishman … World No. 1 Jon Rahm is set to tee it up … FedExCup leader Hideki Matsuyama is returning to action as he inches closer to his Masters title defense … Scottie Scheffler is back in action. He earned his maiden PGA TOUR victory at the WM Phoenix Open and backed that up with a T7 at The Genesis Invitational … Lee Westwood returns to Bay Hill after a runner-up last season … 2021 U.S. Amateur winner James Piot is in the field. It’s the PGA TOUR debut for the Michigan State product … Will Zalatoris will forever be connected to Arnold Palmer. Zalatoris, who is teeing it up at Bay Hill, played at Wake Forest on the Arnold Palmer Scholarship and won the 2020-21 Arnold Palmer Award as TOUR Rookie of the Year … Sponsor exemptions include a wide mix of TOUR veterans and fresh faces. Former FedExCup winner Brandt Snedeker in addition to major winners Graeme McDowell, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington and Danny Willett are all in the field. They’re joined by Nicolai Hojgaard – who made his TOUR debut at The Honda Classic – John Pak, Davis Thompson and Min Woo Lee, among others … Texas A&M’s Sam Bennett earned his way into the field as the Arnold Palmer Cup representative from 2021. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 550 FedExCup points. COURSE: Bay Hill Club & Lodge, par 72, 7,466 yards. The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard has been held at Bay Hill every year on TOUR since 1979. The mostly flat layout challenges the TOUR’s best mostly with water that comes into play on many of the holes. The last two years have seen some blustery conditions as well, resulting in tough scoring conditions. For example, Tyrrell Hatton’s winning total of 4-under 284 was the highest since 1983, while last season’s final-round scoring average of 75.49 was the highest in a final round since 1980. STORYLINES: The biggest question heading into Bay Hill is how Bryson DeChambeau will fare, as he recovers from a pair of injuries – to his left hip and left hand. This marks his first PGA TOUR start since missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open. He was scheduled to play The Genesis Invitational, as well, but withdrew before the event began … DeChambeau was the first American winner at Bay Hill since Matt Every six years prior. International players had won in five consecutive tournament iterations … The winner at Bay Hill earns a three-year PGA TOUR exemption instead of the usual two due to the event’s elevated status … There is plenty of firepower set to tee it up at Bay Hill, with five of the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking in the field. That number includes world No. 1 Jon Rahm, who announced on social media last week that he and wife Kelley are expecting their second child. Rahm finished T21 at The Genesis Invitational, his first finish outside the top-15 in the 2022 calendar year. 72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Payne Stewart (1987). 18-HOLE RECORD: 62, Andy Bean (Round 2, 1981), Greg Norman (Round 2, 1984), Adam Scott (Round 1, 2014). LAST TIME: Sunday at Bay Hill proved to be one of the toughest days on record, so it should have been no surprise that Bryson DeChambeau overpowered the field the best. DeChambeau shot a final-round 71 a year ago, matching the low score of the day. No one broke 70 on Sunday at Bay Hill for the first time since 1980. It was DeChambeau’s second win of the season. He opened with a bogey, but he made birdie on Nos. 4 and 6 – after a 377-yard drive over water on a memorably aggressive line at the par-5 sixth – and stayed steady the rest of the way home. Lee Westwood shot a 1-over 73 and finished runner-up. He and DeChambeau were never separated by more than one shot over the final 15 holes. Corey Conners finished in third alone, while Andrew Putnam, Richy Werenski and Jordan Spieth rounded out the top five. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12–6 p.m. ET. Saturday, 1–6 p.m. Sunday, 1-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes
With Tiger Woods set to descend upon Augusta National, another generation of fans will get to witness some golf magic that seemed, not so long ago, improbable.
SAN ANTONIO – Trey Mullinax didn’t make the FedExCup Playoffs last season, so he’s not fully exempt on the PGA TOUR. His conditional status – he finished 137th on the points list – limits his playing opportunities, as he’s made just two starts in the last nine weeks. That means lots of practice time back home in Birmingham, Alabama. Also lots of time to hang out with his family. “It’s been nice, to be honest,â€� he said. “Obviously I would like to play a little more, but the tournaments I get in, I’m really excited, I’m excited about playing golf.â€� Excited enough Saturday to set a course record at TPC San Antonio. Mullinax’s 10-under 62 on Saturday not only put him in the record books, it put him in position to chase his first PGA TOUR win. Having started the day tied for 25th, Mullinax is now in solo third at 12 under entering the final round of the Valero Texas Open. He’ll be in the final threesome with co-leaders Zach Johnson and Andrew Landry, one stroke ahead. Until Saturday, the lowest round since the tournament moved to TPC San Antonio in 2010 has been the 63s by Matt Every in 2012 and Martin Laird, who shot his in the final round to win in 2013. Mullinax set the record by setting another record, shooting 29 on the back nine – two eagles, four birdies and a bogey – for a new nine-hole mark. Mulinax wasn’t exactly sure what the course record was before rolling in his final putt, a 16-footer for eagle at the par-5 18th. After the ball dropped, he turned to caddie David Flynn and said, “I think that might be the course record.â€� Flynn wasn’t sure either. “No matter what,â€� he replied, “you still played pretty good.â€� Mullinax has played pretty well in his limited starts, a tie for sixth at the Valspar Championship, and a tie for 22nd his last start at Corales Puntacana. That was just about a month ago. He opened Thursday with a 2-over 74, doing well to prevent the round from getting away from him. He improved on Friday as his putter heated up, shooting a 4-under 68 to make the cut. That got him to Saturday. “Obviously I don’t think you ever walk onto a tee and think 62,â€� he said, “but I thought I had some low rounds in me. I thought I was rolling the ball well and felt really good with my irons on the range this morning, so got some stuff to happen.â€� He opened with birdie in three of his first four holes, then sandwiched two more birdies around his lone bogey on the 11th after the turn. At the par-5 14th, he chipped in from 95 feet for eagle. That’s when the round ceased looking good and started looking historic. “I knew I was kind of playing pretty well,â€� he said. Consider that an understatement. Mullinax chipped in again from 40 feet just off the green for birdie at the 16th, drilled his approach inside 6 feet at the 17th, and finished with that eagle putt after a terrific second shot from 257 yards with the ball above his feet. He aimed at the left greenside bunker and cut a 3-iron, letting it bounce toward the pin. Johnson, who shares the course record of 60 at the previous Valero venue at La Cantera, wasn’t surprised to hear about the new mark. Neither was he surprised to hear it was Mullinax who shot it. The two became friends when Mullinax used to live in St. Simons Island, Georgia. “I could see a guy that hits it hard, which he does,â€� Johnson said. “He hits it really, really hard. I could see that because the par 5s kind of become par 4s to some degree with this south wind. And you’ve got to putt, you’ve still got to hit good shots and putt. “62’s ridiculous but you can see it.â€� Despite the limited opportunities to showcase his skills, Mullinax has never worried about getting rusty or losing his competitive edge. “You never really lose how to play golf,â€� he said. “It’s just tournament golf, right? So you just go out and get back in the swing of things. Just another day on the golf course.â€� Saturday, though, was a day no golfer had previously experience at TPC San Antonio. And if Mullinax wins Sunday, his playing schedule will become a lot busier with the two-year exemption awarded to the champion.
