The fourth signature event of the 2025 schedule is just around the corner, but the speculations based on the performance are haunting the top names of golf. With all eyes on the top names at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the golf world is hoping for a matchup of decades. Some have already set the tone with their previous performance in the schedule. Earlier, the Sentry saw an under-35, record low from Hideki Matsuyama, following a 2025 debut win for Rory McIlroy at the AT&T Pebble Beach. At last, Ludvig Aberg sealed the victory at the Genesis Invitational over Scottie Scheffler and McIlroy, who were in tough contention till the first two rounds.
However, now with the tough course, Bay Hills, the analysts share the worry about the player’s performance considering recent performance. Recently at the 5 clubs, Gary Williams, Johnson Wagner, and Brendon de Jonge joined as guests. According to the panel, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Aberg are the top three players considering the current scenario. Now, with the guests being the PGA Tour professionals, William asked them about the missing pieces that would be needed to fix on their performance for the upcoming Masters after the two signature events.
Sharing for this, Wagner pointed out to Scheffler saying, “Well, for Scotty, specifically the way he played Genesis. He showed flashes of a number player in the world from last year, total dominance, but coming down the stretch and even on Saturday he had a lot of pulls off the tee and with his long iron.” As per the fact, Scheffler in the first two rounds recorded 70-67 total with just two bogeys. However, in the third round, performance saw a drop as pointed out by Wagner. He recorded only one birdie, while recording three bogeys and one double-bogey for a total of 76. It hampered the ranking so much that even 8 birdies in the last round could not get to the top of the leaderboard.
Further, he went on to share advice saying, “So at Bay Hills, what I’m looking for, Scotty had two weeks off, get rid of the pulls, put that ball in the play like we’re used to seeing.” He even continued saying, “His good is still good, just need those misses tightened up.” Well, the 28-year-old has struggled a little after his injury comeback. But similar to last year, can he start the winning streak from API? Well, it will be interesting to see.
May 15, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Scottie Scheffler reacts after a shot during a practice round for the PGA Championship golf tournament at Valhalla Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Matt Stone-USA TODAY Sports
Further, asking about the contention for the two events, i.e., API and the Players Championship, William saw hesitation from Wagner and asked him, “Who do you hesitate with if of the three, Rory?” Surprisingly, Wagner said, “Yes, probably Rory mostly at Players.” Despite the win at the Players Championship earlier, Wagner is still not sure about the contention for McIlroy. Besides this, Wagner hasn’t been on the side of McIlroy often. He criticized McIlroy in the past as well when the golfer shared his thoughts about being benefited by LIV Golf for an increase in prize money. Wagner said, “rubbed a lot of players the wrong way.”
Now with the speculations on the top picks, let’s get back in the history to check the performance.
McIlroy and Scheffler’s performance at the Arnold Palmer Invitational
With the ongoing performance drop from both, the golf world has been concerned about the upcoming performance for the two. Out of the top three names of the panel, Aberg will be debuting at the event. Even his performance in the past has been fairly consistent.
But on the other side, the Northern Irishman, after winning at the Pebble Beach, struggled at the Genesis as he recorded rounds of 72-67-74-72 and was placed at T17. However, he has a victory under his name at the API in 2018, which might give confidence. Additionally, at the 2023 edition, he was runner-up with Harris English.
For the World No. 1, the Arnold Palmer Invitational is the ideal start for the schedule as last year he won the event and went on to match the prime years of Tiger Woods with 7 victories in the season. Well, the golf world could expect the same this year too, as he has already bagged two victories in 2024 and 2022. But with the concerning drop and issue, it will be an interesting competition to witness.
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