HP 🍑 for the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational

First Look: Bay Hill Club & Lodge @ Orlando, Florida

Check out DB’s full Course Breakdown for everything you need to know about this week’s venue including in-depth stats and data from Bet The Number.

Another week, another somewhat forgettable result (unless you had Eckroat). The Florida Swing kicked off with some more wacky weather and a rare Monday win for 110-1 Austin Eckroat. The longshots continue, and so do the invites to Augusta. For the second week in a row, the week’s winner has earned a coveted spot in the Masters for the very first time. First Knapp, now Eckroat — will we see another at the API? Read on for everything you need to know ahead of the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Let’s get into it!

Welcome to the Show:
Get to Know the 2024 PGA Tour Rookies

Thanks to recent eligibility changes from the PGA Tour, 45 newly minted Tour Cards were handed out ahead of the 2024 season. Each week, we’ll spotlight a few up-and-comers whose names will be important to know as the year progresses.

• Raul Pereda - Mexico

  The 27-year-old becomes the only Mexican international with full status on the PGA TOUR thanks to a hail-mary at Q-School last year. He secured a top-five finish and a TOUR Card by just one stroke thanks in part to a pair of chip-in birdies on the back nine at Dye’s Valley. Pereda spent four years at Jacksonville University before turning pro in 2018 and first came on the scene at last year’s Mexico Open where he shot an opening round 65. He’s had less success in his three TOUR starts since as he’s yet to make a cut so far in 2024.

• Thorbjorn Oleson - Denmark

  If he sounds like a familiar name, it’s because he is. The 34-year-old Dane has been around the block and the world for over a decade with starts across both major tours. Oleson was also a member of the victorious European Ryder Cup team in 2018 at Le Golf National. Despite all of this, he earned his first full PGA TOUR card in 2023 thanks to the new DP World Tour eligibility rankings that award the top-10 otherwise non-exempt players with full status stateside. Even with exemptions, Oleson chose to begin his 2024 campaign over in Europe where he grabbed his 9th win on that tour at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in January.

• Nicholas Lindheim - Mission Viejo, CA

  Nicholas Lindheim is one of the oldest PGA TOUR newcomers (if you can even call him that). Last year, the 38-year-old returned to the world’s biggest tour for the first time since 2017 via the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Finals, but he made just two starts before a back injury held him out for several months. After his recovery, Lindheim went on to record five top-10 finishes on the KFT including a win at The Ascendant, but he had less luck on the PGA TOUR with nothing better than a T27 in four starts. However, he did make the cut in each of those starts to close 2023, which is more than he can say for his current season; he missed the cut at the Amex, Farmers and the Cognizant.

1. SG: Off the Tee Leaders last 30 rounds: 1. McIlroy  2. Scheffler  3. Conners 4. Lee, M.W. 5. Hovland  6. Schauffele 7. van Rooyen  8. An 9. Young, Cam 10. Burns

2. SG: Approach Leaders last 30 rounds: 1. Hoge  2. Scheffler 3. Morikawa 4. Taylor, Nick 5. Glover  6. Conners 7. Bezuidenhout  8. Schauffele  9. Scott 10. Pavon

3. SG: ARG Leaders last 24 rounds:  1. Thomas 2. Hughes 3. Fleetwood 4. Matsuyama  5. Rodgers 6. List  7. Homa 8. Cole  9. Scheffler 10. Fitzpatrick

4. SG: Putting last 24 rounds:  1. Pavon 2. Burns 3. Grillo  4. Putnam  5. Hovland 6. Theegala 7. Hoge  8. Taylor, Nick  9. Rose 10. English

5. SG: APP from 165-230 yds last 30 rounds: 1. Scheffler 2. Hoge 3. Bradley  4. List  5. McCarthy 6. Young, Cam 7. Svensson 8. Burns 9. Aberg 10. Cole

6. SG: Putting from 4’-10’ last 24 rounds on Bermuda Greens: 1. Straka 2. Pavon 3. Putnam  4. Spieth  5. Fitzpatrick  6. Moore, Taylor 7. Schauffele 8. Rose  9. Cole 10. Day

7. Top 10 in Bogey Avoidance last 24 rounds: 1. Burns  2. Scheffler  3. Hovland 4. Putnam  5. Schauffele  6. Thomas 7. Kim, S.W. 8. Kirk  9. Kitayama 10. Knapp

8. Top 10 in Apex Height: 1. Valimaki  2. Day  3. An 4. Aberg  5. Bradley 6. Young, Cam 7. Hughes  8. Clark  9. Fleetwood 10. Rose

9. Top 10 in Data Golf Positive Course History vs. Expectation: 1. Kitayama  2. Spieth 3. Aberg  4. Scheffler  5. Schenk 6. Young, Cam 7. Grillo 8. Fitzpatrick 9. Im 10. Cantlay

10. SG: Total (Per Rd vs Field) at PGA National last 12 rounds: 1. Spieth 2. Scheffler 3. Conners  4. McIlroy  5. English 6. Fitzpatrick 7. Bradley 8. Young, Cam 9. Kirk 10. Hovland

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