Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Seamus Power will tee it up at Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational with some Ryder Cup themed pairings a feature of the first two days.
McIlroy has been paired alongside Collin Morikawa while Lowry will play with Ludvig Aberg and Power has been handed a taste of what might have been in Rome with a Tommy Fleetwood pairing.
After a series of long shot, fairytale winners papering over the cracks on the PGA Tour it feels like things are getting down to business with this Signature Event acting as the starting block for the run in towards the Masters next month.
It’s time to hit form.
McIlroy heads into the week searching for his first PGA TOUR win of the campaign after a ‘what might have been’ week at the Cognizant Classic.
A couple of things prevented the Holywood man from truly contending last week. His concerning habit of chucking in big numbers out of nowhere reared its ugly head at the bear trap on Saturday while the putter still appears to be causing him some issues.
A 2018 winner of this event this could be the week McIlroy really steps up his Masters preparation.
Lowry on the other hand can take plenty of positives despite missing a chance to win for the first time since 2022 and claim his first regular PGA TOUR win.
It’s perhaps a double whammy that a chance to build some momentum on top of that comes at a golf course he admits he “hasn’t figured out.”
The Clara man has only ever made the cut once at Bay Hill, that coming last year en route to a 67th place finish.
This is Lowry’s season debut at the Signature Events having failed to qualify for them at the start of the year.
But next week provides ample opportunity for him to kick on at the PLAYERS Championship.
Lowry may look at his compatriot Power with envy as the West Waterford man could afford to take time off after a solid T31 finish at the Genesis Invitational.
Power’s return from injury has been slow and unspectacular but no missed cuts in his last three starts is reason to be cheerful.
Having slipped outside the top-100 in the Official World Golf Rankings, Power is without a top-10 finish on the PGA Tour since the end of 2022.
Making just his third start at Bay Hill he will be looking for improvement on a run of MC, 72nd.
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