Patrick Maguire
The PGA TOUR’s Florida swing continues this week at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida, from Thursday, March 5th to Sunday, March 8th. The third signature event of the year has an increased prize pot of $20 million, with $4 million going to this year’s winner. Conditions look fast and firm with temperatures being around 80 degrees and sunny throughout the whole week, with potential for some rain towards the end of the round on Thursday. I expect the players in the field to shoot low this week, with the champion being between 10 and 15 under par. Should be another exciting week watching the best players in the world compete against one another!
Here are my three picks for this week’s tournament:
- Scottie Scheffler
What a surprise! I’m picking the #1 player in the Official World Golf Rankings! Scottie can’t be stopped, though, with already winning the American Express Championship this year; he looks destined for another win. This season, Scottie leads the tour in strokes gained, and is second in greens in regulation and in strokes gained driving off the tee. Scottie just has to fix his putting this week, as he is ranked 18th in putting on tour. Now if the putter gets going this week, the rest of the field has no chance! The 2022 and 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational winner is looking for a third win at Bay Hill in his career.
- Chris Gotterup
With two wins at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and the Sony Open In Hawaii in 2026, Gotterup is becoming the new guy to beat on the PGA TOUR. This season, Chris is 4th in strokes gained off the tee and 5th in driving distance, averaging 322 yards per drive! He is a force to reckon with on the tour this year and is looking for his 3rd win of the season before the first Major of the year, which will be The Masters in 6 weeks.
- Colin Morikawa
The two-time Major winner seems to have his game back, winning for the first time since 2023 at the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The 2025 runner-up at the Arnold Palmer Invitational is looking for revenge as fellow competitor Russell Henley chipped in for eagle on the 16th hole in the final round to cost Colin a chance at victory. Colin is 6th in strokes gained approach to the green, but needs to dial in his putter this week, where he is only ranked 131st on tour in strokes gained putting. Colin is looking to get his putter dialed in again to when he shot a 10-under 62 at Pebble Beach in round 3 just a few weeks ago.
