The Arnold Palmer Invitational is a professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

tournament on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

. It is played each March at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge, a private golf resort owned since 1974 by

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

in Bay Hill, a suburb southwest of

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The event was founded in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

as a successor to the Florida Citrus Open Invitational, which debuted in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

and was played at Rio Pinar Country Club, east of Orlando, through

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

. Arnold Palmer won the Florida Citrus Open in 1971. Since 1979, the tournament title has had a number of different names, most of them including "Bay Hill," but has played under the Palmer name since

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. On March 21, 2012, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and MasterCard Worldwide announced an extension to MasterCard's "Presented by" sponsorship until the 2016 tournament. In June 2014, the PGA Tour approved a resolution to grant the winner a three-year exemption, one more than regular Tour events and on par with winners of the

World Golf Championships The World Golf Championships (WGC) are a group of annual professional golf tournaments created by the International Federation of PGA Tours as a means of gathering the best players in the world together more frequently than the pre-existing four ...

The Tour Championship The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...

, and the

Memorial Tournament The Memorial Tournament is a PGA Tour golf tournament founded in 1976 by Jack Nicklaus. It is played on a Nicklaus-designed course at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb north of Columbus. The golf course passes through a large n ...

. The winner receives a red cardigan sweater in memory of Arnold Palmer, a tradition that began with the 2017 tournament after Palmer's death in 2016. In 2019, the event was added to the Open Qualifying Series, giving up to three non-exempt players entry into

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

Invitational status

The Arnold Palmer Invitational is one of only five tournaments given "invitational" status by the

, and consequently it has a reduced field of only 120 players (as compared to most full-field open tournaments that have fields of 144 or 156 players). The other four tournaments with invitational status are the

Genesis Open The Genesis Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in southern California, first played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. Other previous names include Genesis Open, Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open. Played annually i ...

RBC Heritage The RBC Heritage, known for much of its history as the Heritage Classic or simply the Heritage, is a PGA Tour event in South Carolina, first played in 1969. It is currently played in mid-April, the week after The Masters in Augusta, Georgia. T ...

, the

Fort Worth Invitational The Colonial National Invitation, titled for sponsorship reasons as the Charles Schwab Challenge since 2019, is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played annually in May in Fort Worth at Colonial Country Club, which organize ...

, and the

. Invitational tournaments have smaller fields (between 120 and 132 players), and have more freedom than full-field open tournaments in determining which players are eligible to participate in their event, as invitational tournaments are not required to fill their fields using the PGA Tour Priority Ranking System. Furthermore, unlike full-field open tournaments, invitational tournaments do not offer open qualifying (aka Monday qualifying).

Field

The field consists of 120 players invited using the following criteria: # Arnold Palmer Invitational winners prior to 2000 and in the last five years #

The Players Championship The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as The PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The P ...

and major championship winners in the last five years #

, and

winners in the past three years # Tournament winners in the past year # Playing member of last named U.S.

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

team; current PGA Tour members who were playing members on last named European Ryder Cup team, U.S.

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

team, and International Presidents Cup team # Prior year

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

winner (if still an amateur) # Top 50

Official World Golf Ranking The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

(as of Friday prior) # PGA Tour life members # 18 sponsors exemptions– 2 from

Web.com Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. Th ...

finals, 8 members not otherwise exempt, and 8 unrestricted # Up to two foreign players designated by the commissioner # Top 70 from prior year's

FedEx Cup The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. Th ...

points list # Members in top 125 non-member category whose prior year non-WGC points equal or exceed the 70th position on the prior year FedEx Cup points list # Top 70 from current year's FedEx Cup points list (as of Friday prior) # PGA Section (North Florida) champion/player of the year # Remaining positions filled from current year's FedEx Cup points list Arnold Palmer had a lifetime invitation.

Tournament highlights

*1966:

Lionel Hebert Lionel Paul Hebert (January 20, 1928 – December 30, 2000) was an American professional golfer. He won five times on the PGA Tour, including the PGA Championship in 1957, the last edition held at match play. His older brother Jay won the same ev ...

wins the inaugural version of the tournament. He wins by two shots over

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

Charles Coody Billy Charles Coody (born July 13, 1937) is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the 1971 Masters Tournament. Coody was born in Stamford, Texas and raised in Abilene, Texas. He attended Abilene Christian University before tran ...

, and Dick Lytle. *1968:

Dan Sikes Daniel David Sikes, Jr. (December 7, 1929 – December 20, 1987) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour. Sikes won nine tournaments as a pro, including six PGA Tour events. He was influential as the c ...

breaks out of a 5-way logjam to win by one shot over

Tom Weiskopf Thomas Daniel Weiskopf (November 9, 1942 – August 20, 2022) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. His most successful decade was the 1970s. He won 16 PGA Tour titles between 1968 and 1982, inclu ...

. At the end of 54 holes, Sikes had been tied for the lead with Jack Nicklaus,

Bruce Devlin Bruce William Devlin (born 10 October 1937) is an Australian professional golfer, sportscaster and golf course designer. Devlin was born in Armidale, Australia. He turned pro in 1961 and joined the PGA Tour in 1962 after an amateur career in Au ...

Miller Barber Miller Westford Barber, Jr. (March 31, 1931 – June 11, 2013) was an American professional golfer who enjoyed significant success on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s, and a greater degree of success on the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions ...

, and Bob Charles. Officials said this was the first time there had ever been a five-way tie for the lead after 54 holes at a PGA event. *1971:

wins the event eight years before he becomes its host. He beats

Julius Boros Julius Nicholas Boros (March 3, 1920 – May 28, 1994) was an American professional golfer noted for his effortless-looking swing and strong record on difficult golf courses, particularly at the U.S. Open. Early years Born in Fairfield, Connecti ...

by one shot. *1973:

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

veteran

Buddy Allin Brian Thomas ("Bud" or "Buddy") Allin (October 13, 1944 – March 10, 2007) was an American professional golfer who won five PGA Tour events in the 1970s. Early life Allin was born in Bremerton, Washington. He learned to play golf at age 13 w ...

shoots a tournament record 23 under par to breeze to an eight shot victory over Charles Coody. *1974:

Jerry Heard Jerry Michael Heard (born May 1, 1947) is an American professional golfer who won several PGA Tour events in the 1970s. Early life Heard was born in Visalia, California. He attended Fresno State College (now Fresno State University) for a sho ...

becomes the tournament's first two-time winner. He beats

Homero Blancas Homero Blancas, Jr. (born March 7, 1938) is an American professional golfer who has played on both the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the Champions Tour). Amateur career Blancas, who is of Mexican American descent, was born in ...

and Jim Jamieson by two shots. *1976: Early on a Monday morning,

Hale Irwin Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American professional golfer. He was one of the world's leading golfers from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. He is one of the few players in history to win three U.S. Opens, becoming the oldest ever U.S. Op ...

defeats

Kermit Zarley Kermit Millard Zarley, Jr. (born September 29, 1941) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. He is also an author of several books. Biography Zarley was born in Seattle, Washington. He graduated f ...

on the sixth hole of a sudden death playoff after play was suspended due to darkness on Sunday. While speaking to the press on Sunday evening, Irwin blamed NBC Sports for there not being enough time to finish the playoff. *1979: Bob Byman wins the first edition of the tournament to be played at Bay Hill. He defeats John Schroeder on the second hole of a sudden death playoff. *1980:

Dave Eichelberger Martin Davis Eichelberger, Jr. (born September 3, 1943) is an American professional golfer who has won several tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour levels. Eichelberger was born in Waco, Texas. He started in the game at the age of ...

wins by three shots over Leonard Thompson. The temperatures were so cold that Eichelberger wore panty hose during the final round. *1982:

Tom Kite Thomas Oliver Kite Jr. (born December 9, 1949) is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. He won the U.S. Open in 1992 and spent 175 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1989 and 1994. Career Kite wa ...

chips in for birdie on the first hole of a sudden death playoff to defeat Jack Nicklaus and

Denis Watson Denis Leslie Watson (born 18 October 1955) is a professional golfer from Zimbabwe. Early life and amateur career Born in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe) Watson was educated at Oriel Boys High School, Chisipite. He represented Rhod ...

. *1984:

Gary Koch Gary D. Koch (born November 21, 1952) is an American professional golfer, sportscaster and golf course designer, who formerly played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour. Early years Koch was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in ...

shoots a final round 63 before defeating

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. His arched eyebr ...

on the second hole of a sudden death playoff. Koch is the only champion in the tournament's history to win both at Rio Pinar and Bay Hill. *1985: Coming off back surgery less than six months previously,

Fuzzy Zoeller Frank Urban "Fuzzy" Zoeller Jr. (; born November 11, 1951) is an American professional golfer who has won ten PGA Tour events including two major championships. He is one of three golfers to have won the Masters Tournament in his first appearan ...

wins at Bay Hill. He finishes two shots ahead of Tom Watson. *1987:

Payne Stewart William Payne Stewart (January 30, 1957 – October 25, 1999) was an American professional golfer who won eleven PGA Tour events, including three major championships, the last of which came just a few months before his death in an airplane acci ...

, who owned a home just off Bay Hill's 12th tee, notches his third career PGA Tour title. He beats

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ' ...

by three shots. *1989: Tom Kite wins for a second time at Bay Hill by defeating

Davis Love III Davis Milton Love III (born April 13, 1964) is an American professional golfer who has won 21 events on the PGA Tour, including one major championship: the 1997 PGA Championship. He won the Players Championship in 1992 and 2003. He was in th ...

on the second hole of a sudden death playoff. Before the playoff took place, both Kite and Love made double bogey on the tournament's 72nd hole. *1990:

Robert Gamez Robert Anthony Gamez (born July 21, 1968) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour. Gamez was born in Las Vegas, and is of Mexican descent. He attended the University of Arizona where he was a member of the golf team ...

holes a 7-iron on the 72nd hole for an eagle two allowing him to win by one shot over

Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and retired professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 89 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournament ...

. *1992:

Fred Couples Frederick Steven Couples (born October 3, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has competed on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. A former World No. 1, he has won 64 professional tournaments, most notably the Masters Tournament ...

wins by nine shots over

Gene Sauers Gene Craig Sauers (born August 22, 1962) is an American professional golfer, currently playing on the PGA Tour Champions. He had three wins on the PGA Tour and overcame a deadly skin condition that kept him off the golf course for five years. He ...

. With his win, Couples becomes the #1 ranked player in the world. *1995:

Loren Roberts Loren Lloyd Roberts (born June 24, 1955) is an American professional golfer, who has played on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. Early life Roberts was born in San Luis Obispo, California. He competed for San Luis Obispo Senior High Scho ...

becomes the first returning champion to successfully defend his title. He beats

Brad Faxon Bradford John Faxon Jr. (born August 1, 1961) is an American professional golfer. He has won eight times on the PGA Tour. Early years and amateur career Faxon was born in Oceanport, New Jersey and raised in Barrington, Rhode Island. He attended Fu ...

by two shots. *1996:

Paul Goydos Paul David Goydos (born June 20, 1964) is an American professional golfer who has played on the Ben Hogan Tour, PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. Early life Goydos was born and raised in Long Beach, California and is the youngest of three brothers ...

wins for the first time on the PGA Tour. He beats

Jeff Maggert Jeffrey Allan Maggert (born February 20, 1964) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. Early life Maggert was born in Columbia, Missouri. He was raised on a golf course in The Woodlands, Texas where ...

by one shot and

Tom Purtzer Thomas Warren Purtzer (born December 5, 1951) is an American professional golfer who has won tournaments on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. Purtzer was born in Des Moines, Iowa. He attended Arizona State University in Tempe, where he ...

by two. During the tournament's second round, Purtzer incurred a two-shot penalty by playing the wrong ball. *1998: During the tournament's final round, John Daly hits six balls in the water on the sixth hole. He finishes the hole with a final score of 18. *2000:

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

wins at Bay Hill for the first time. He beats Davis Love III by four shots. *2003: Tiger Woods becomes the first golfer since Gene Sarazen at the 1930 Miami Open to win the same tournament in four consecutive years. He wins by 11 shots over

Kirk Triplett Kirk Alan Triplett (born March 29, 1962) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, and PGA Tour Champions. Early years Born in Moses Lake, Washington, Triplett grew up on the Palouse in Pullman and gradu ...

Stewart Cink Stewart may refer to: People * Stewart (name), Scottish surname and given name *Clan Stewart, a Scottish clan *Clan Stewart of Appin, a Scottish clan Places Canada * Stewart, British Columbia *Stewart Township, Nipissing District, Ontario (hist ...

Kenny Perry James Kenneth Perry (born August 10, 1960) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He won 14 PGA Tour events and has won nine PGA Tour Champions events including four senior major championships: the 20 ...

, and Brad Faxon. *2005: Kenny Perry wins by two shots over

Vijay Singh Vijay Singh ( hif, विजय सिंह ; born 22 February 1963), nicknamed "The Big Fijian", is a Fijian professional golfer. He has won 34 events on the PGA Tour, including three major championships: one Masters title (2000) and two ...

and

Graeme McDowell Graeme McDowell (born 30 July 1979) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland. He has a total of eleven tournament victories on the European Tour, and four on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Be ...

. Perry and Singh were tied for the lead until Singh made double bogey at the 72nd hole. *2008: Tiger Woods sinks a 25-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole to defeat

Bart Bryant Barton Holan Bryant (November 18, 1962 – May 31, 2022) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. Early life Bryant was born in Gatesville, Texas, the son of a Baptist pastor. He attended New Mex ...

by one shot. It's Woods fifth Bay Hill triumph in addition to his winning the fifth consecutive tournament he had played in. *2009: Tiger Woods wins at Bay Hill for the 2nd straight year and sixth time overall. He birdies the 72nd hole to defeat

Sean O'Hair Sean M. O'Hair (born July 11, 1982) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Early life O'Hair was born in Lubbock, Texas. Rather than play college golf, O'Hair turned professional in 1999 after his junior year at high sc ...

by one shot. *2012: Tiger Woods wins the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the seventh time, ending a winless streak on the PGA Tour dating back 27 events to September 13, 2009. *2013: Tiger Woods wins for a record-tying eighth time at the Arnold Palmer Invitational while holing three eagles during the week, the first time a player has accomplished the feat since 2001; he ascends to the number 1 ranking for the first time since October 2010. *2014: With world number one Woods out of the tournament, the focus was on world number two Adam Scott. Scott led the first three rounds, but struggled in the fourth round, finishing third behind

Keegan Bradley Keegan Hansen Bradley (born June 7, 1986) is an American professional golfer who competes on the PGA Tour. He has won five tour events, most notably the 2011 PGA Championship. He is one of six golfers to win in his major debut, along with Ben Cu ...

and first-time PGA Tour winner

Matt Every Matthew King Every (born December 4, 1983) is an American professional golfer who has won on both the PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour. Early years Every was born in Daytona Beach, Florida. He attended Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, wh ...

. *2015: Matt Every holed an 18-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to beat Henrik Stenson by one shot and become the third golfer to defend his title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. In the third round, Daniel Berger recorded a

double eagle A double eagle is a gold coin of the United States with a denomination of $20. (Its gold content of 0.9675 troy oz (30.0926 grams) was worth $20 at the 1849 official price of $20.67/oz.) The coins are 34 mm x 2 mm and are made from ...

at the par-5 6th hole, the first since the tournament moved to Bay Hill in 1979.

Zach Johnson Zachary Harris Johnson (born February 24, 1976) is an American professional golfer who has 12 victories on the PGA Tour, including two major championships, the 2007 Masters and the 2015 Open Championship. In 2023, Johnson will captain the U ...

repeated the feat in the final round on the par-5 16th.

Course layout

Source:

Winners

''Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.''
Sources:Arnold Palmer Invitational - Winners
- at www.golfobserver.com

Multiple winners

Seven men have won this tournament more than once through 2022. *8 wins **

: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013 *2 wins **

: 1972, 1974 **

: 1977, 1984 **

: 1982, 1989 **

: 1994, 1995 **

Ernie Els Theodore Ernest Els (; born 17 October 1969) is a South African professional golfer. A former , he is known as "The Big Easy" due to his imposing physical stature (he stands ) along with his fluid golf swing. Among his more than 70 career victor ...

: 1998, 2010 **

: 2014, 2015

Notes

References

External links

*
Coverage on the PGA Tour's official siteRio Pinar Country Club
{{PGA Tour Events PGA Tour events Golf in Orlando, Florida Sports competitions in Orlando, Florida Recurring sporting events established in 1966 Arnold Palmer 1966 establishments in Florida