How to bet the Arnold Palmer Invitational: Best bets, DFS tips and more - ESPN

Bay Hill is long, demanding, the rough is thick and if your long irons aren't sharp, you're going to feel it by Saturday. The par 3s are no joke — 200-plus yards — on a course where a birdie fest is subdued. It's more about controlled tee shots, strong iron play and guys who survive missed greens.

I'm looking for balanced tee-to-green players with solid long iron numbers and enough short game ability/stability to grind out four rounds without imploding.

Here are the players that make sense for Bay Hill.

Odds by DraftKings Sportsbook (with ties) and subject to change.

Nicolai Højgaard: Top 20 (+148)

Full odds:

Top 30 -108

Top 10 +360

Top 5 +830

To win +5600

The version of Højgaard that missed cuts here in 2025 isn't the version we're seeing now. Last season he was consistently bleeding strokes around the green, which is fatal at Bay Hill where missed greens are guaranteed. Over his last seven rounds, he's been neutral or positive, removing his biggest liability.

The ball striking is real, gaining strokes on approach in every event this year, and continuing to produce positive off-the-tee numbers. Controlling shots and long-iron proximity is what separates contenders from survivors.

He's also second in par 3 scoring and fourth on par 3s over 200 yards, which directly correlates to Bay Hill's setup. Add in improved scrambling and a positive Bermuda putting split, and you're looking at a far more complete player; credit I didn't give him last week.

Højgaard is a balanced tee-to-green player with short-game stability, which means his baseline has clearly moved up. If his current form holds, he's live to be near the top of the leaderboard.

Ryo Hisatsune: Top 30 (+156)

Full odds:

Top 20 +255

Top 10 +680

Top 5 +1700