A first-time PGA Tour winner or an international champion (or both) could be crowned this week at the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational, which tees off on Thursday at Bay Hill. Five of the past six Arnold Palmer Invitational champions have been international players, and four of the past five winners on the PGA Tour have been first-timers. A debut winner would be a surprise, but the latest 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational odds from Caesars Sportsbook are littered with international stars. Caesars list world No. 1 Jon Rahm of Spain as the 17-2 favorite, with Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, the 2018 champion, as the 12-1 second choice. American Scottie Scheffler (16-1), Norway's Viktor Hovland (16-1), Japan's Hideki Matsuyama (25-1) and Irishman Matt Fitzpatrick (28-1) also are considered top contenders.
Can Scheffler follow Bryson DeChamebeau's lead and get a second straight win by an American at Bay Hill this week? Or will a foreign player like Rahm, Hovland or even Paul Casey (40-1) put you in a better spot to win with your 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational Fantasy golf picks? Before setting your Fantasy golf lineups or making any 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational bets, be sure to check out the fantasy golf projections and lineup advice from SportsLine fantasy expert Riley Gates.
Gates is a writer for 247Sports and has covered a range of sports for nearly five years. He has followed golf closely for much longer and has a profound knowledge of the sport. He also knows what it takes to win, on the course and in fantasy sports, and he has been on fire this season.
In his picks for the Honda Classic, eight of his selections finished in the top 16 in a crazy week where four of the top 10 favorites missed the cut. His picks included Shane Lowry, who battled to the finish but came up short as Sepp Straka powered to his first PGA Tour victory.
"Lowry is going to come into this one overlooked, having not played on tour since November," Gates said, but he "is playing good golf and is more than capable of doing it this weekend." Lowry certainly did that, playing bogey-free for the final 29 holes but was done in by a driving rain on 18 and finished a shot back.
Gates also was on the money at the WM Phoenix Open, where nine of Gates' fantasy picks finished in the top 14, and his top five all posted top-10 finishes. He also nailed his picks at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, with four of his top seven picks posting top-five finishes. And at the Hero World Challenge, again four of his top seven finished in the top five. Anyone who has followed Gates is way up.
Now, Gates has ranked his top 20 golfers for the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational. You can only see his fantasy golf rankings and Arnold Palmer Invitational picks at SportsLine.
2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational Fantasy golf expert picks
Matsuyama might have stumbled a bit in his last outing, but Gates is backing him this week at Bay Hill. He has two victories already this season, at the Zozo and Sony, so he has been locked in. He has 17 career wins worldwide. The Japanese star tied for 39th at Riviera but was T-8 the previous week in Phoenix and has four top-10's in nine events. He is 21st on tour in scoring average (69.944), 12th in strokes gained: tee-to-green and 19th in greens in regulation (73 percent). He averages 4.6 birdies per round and will be gearing up to defend his Masters title.
On the other hand, Gates is shockingly fading Rahm, who has been the best player on tour for more than a year but has just one win to show for it. The Spaniard's price is just too high, and the expert has a few other options he likes better. Rahm leads the tour in greens in regulation (78 percent) and is third in driving distance (319.6 yards), so he could definitely do well at Bay Hill. But he has never played the Arnold Palmer, and he is 174th in strokes gained: around the green and 177th in putts inside 10 feet. He will need to make those putts to succeed this week.
How to set your 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational Fantasy golf rankings
For this week at Bay Hill, the fantasy expert is backing a long shot who is listed at around 40-1. Gates says this player is "playing some of the best golf of his career," and the expert is stunned his odds aren't lower. He sees this golfer as a must-play in your Arnold Palmer fantasy golf picks. You can find out who it is, and check out all of Gates' top Honda Classic fantasy golf picks at SportsLine.
Who wins the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational this week? Who are the top PGA Tour players to target for your Fantasy picks? And which overlooked players can help you win your league this week? Visit SportsLine now to get Riley Gates' Fantasy golf rankings for the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational, all from the fantasy expert with his finger on the pulse of the game, and find out.
