Three golfers who could win the 2026 Arnold Palmer Classic

Scottie Scheffler (X)

The PGA Tour continues in the state of Florida on Thursday with the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, the third signature event of the 2026 season (following Pebble Beach which was won by Collin Morikawa and the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles which was won by Jacob Bridgeman). Here are the three golfers we like this week the most. 

Scottie Scheffler

The world number one has won Arnie’s tournament twice. The first title came in 2022 (where he beat Tyrrell Hatton, Billy Horschel and Viktor Hovland by a stroke), and the second came in 2024 (when he clobbered runner-up Wyndham Clark by five strokes). Scheffler is the only player in the entire field to win the Arnold Palmer Classic more than once, and is no surprise that he is the favourite to win this year as he is at +310.

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Rory McIlroy

The five-time major champion is the second most popular player on the betting board this week at +1000. McIlroy is a prior champion as he posted a score of -18 and beat Bryson DeChambeau by three strokes in 2018. The world number two has made 16 consecutive cuts, has not missed the cut since his disastrous 2025 Canadian Open, and finished second behind Bridgeman at the Genesis.

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Matt Fitzpatrick

The world number 22 needs to be considered because of his consistency at Bay Hill. According to Rotowire Golf, he has finished in the top 15 in six of his last nine Arnold Palmer Invitational events. Fitzpatrick’s best result was a second place finish to Italy’s Francesco Molinari in 2019.

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