The Arnold Palmer Invitational is a professional
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
tournament on the
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
. It is played each March at the
Bay Hill Club and Lodge, a private golf resort owned since 1974 by
Arnold Palmer in
Bay Hill, a suburb southwest of
Orlando, Florida
Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
.
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 ...
. Arnold Palmer won the Florida Citrus Open in 1971.
Since 1979, the tournament title has had several different names, most of them including "Bay Hill," but has played under the Palmer name since
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
. 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 Tour Championship, and the
Memorial Tournament.
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
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
. Consequently, it has a reduced field of only 69 players in 2024 (as compared to most full-field open tournaments with fields of 144 or 156 players). The other four tournaments with invitational status are the
Genesis Invitational,
RBC Heritage, the
Charles Schwab Challenge, and the
Memorial Tournament. Invitational tournaments have smaller fields (between 69 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 before 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 ...
and
major championship winners in the last five years
#
The Tour Championship,
World Golf Championships, and
Memorial Tournament winners in the past three years
# Tournament winners in the past year
# Playing member of last-named U.S.
Ryder Cup team; current PGA Tour members who were playing members on last named European Ryder Cup team, U.S.
Presidents Cup team, and International Presidents Cup team
# Prior year
U.S. Amateur winner (if still an amateur)
# Top 50
Official World Golf Ranking (as of Friday prior)
# PGA Tour life members
# 18 sponsors exemptions– two from
Web.com Tour finals, eight members not otherwise exempt, and eight unrestricted
# Up to two foreign players designated by the commissioner
# Top 70 from prior year's
FedEx Cup
The FedEx Cup is the championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction in 2007 marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Since its inception, the competition has been sponsored by FedEx. In 2022, the PGA Tour ...
points list
# Members in the 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 the current year's FedEx Cup points list
Arnold Palmer had a lifetime invitation.
Tournament highlights

* 1966:
Lionel Hebert 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 an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...
,
Charles Coody, and
Dick Lytle.
* 1968:
Dan Sikes 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, incl ...
. 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.
Early life
Devlin was born in 1937 in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. His parents, Jess and Artie, moved to Gou ...
,
Miller Barber, 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:
Arnold Palmer wins the event eight years before he becomes its host. He beats
Julius Boros by one shot.
* 1973:
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
veteran
Buddy Allin shoots a tournament record 23 under par to breeze to an eight-shot victory over Charles Coody.
* 1974:
Jerry Heard becomes the tournament's first two-time winner. He beats
Homero Blancas and
Jim Jamieson by two shots.
* 1976: Early on a Monday morning,
Hale Irwin defeats
Kermit Zarley 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 tournament's first edition to be played at Bay Hill. He defeats
John Schroeder on the second hole of a sudden death playoff.
* 1980:
Dave Eichelberger wins by three shots over
Leonard Thompson. The temperatures were so cold that Eichelberger wore pantyhose during the final round.
* 1982:
Tom Kite chips in for birdie on the first hole of a sudden death playoff to defeat Jack Nicklaus and
Denis Watson.
* 1984:
Gary Koch shoots a final round 63 before defeating
George Burns 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 appea ...
wins at Bay Hill. He finishes two shots ahead of
Tom Watson.
* 1987:
Payne Stewart, who owned a home just off Bay Hill's 12th tee, notches his third career PGA Tour title. He beats
David Frost by three shots.
* 1989: Tom Kite wins for a second time at Bay Hill by defeating
Davis Love III on the second hole of a sudden death playoff. Before the playoff, Kite and Love made a double bogey on the tournament's 72nd hole.
* 1990:
Robert Gamez holes a 7-iron on the 72nd hole for an eagle two allowing him to win by one shot over
Greg Norman.
* 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. With his win, Couples becomes the #1 ranked player in the world.
* 1995:
Loren Roberts becomes the first returning champion to defend his title successfully. He beats
Brad Faxon by two shots.
* 1996:
Paul Goydos wins for the first time on the PGA Tour. He beats
Jeff Maggert by one shot and
Tom Purtzer 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 hit 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 List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
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,
Stewart Cink,
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 2 ...
, and Brad Faxon.
* 2005: Kenny Perry wins by two shots over
Vijay Singh and
Graeme McDowell. Perry and Singh were tied for the lead until Singh made a double bogey at the 72nd hole.
* 2008: Tiger Woods sinks a 25-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole to defeat
Bart Bryant by one shot. It's Wood's 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 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 and first-time PGA Tour winner
Matt Every.
* 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 at the par-5 6th hole, the first since the tournament moved to Bay Hill in 1979.
Zach Johnson 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
Eight men have won this tournament more than once through 2024.
* 8 wins
** Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013
* 2 wins
** Jerry Heard: 1972, 1974
** Gary Koch: 1977, 1984
** Tom Kite: 1982, 1989
** Loren Roberts: 1994, 1995
** Ernie Els: 1998, 2010
** Matt Every: 2014, 2015
** Scottie Scheffler
Scott Alexander Scheffler (born June 21, 1996) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is currently ranked world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has held that position for over 100 weeks. He has won th ...
: 2022, 2024
Notes
References
External links
*
Coverage on the PGA Tour's official site
Rio Pinar Country Club
{{PGA Tour Events
PGA Tour events
Golf tournaments in Florida
Golf in Orlando, Florida
Sports competitions in Orlando, Florida
Arnold Palmer
Recurring sporting events established in 1966
1966 establishments in Florida