History: The former Bay Hill Invitational dates to 1979, and Arnold Palmer has been instrumental in the tournament's rise to prominence. It's one of only five invitationals on tour, and thus has a smaller, more exclusive field. Some of golf's biggest names have had some of their finest moments here, as you'll see below.
The TV: Thur.-Fri.: Golf Channel, 3-6 p.m. ET; Sat.-Sun.: NBC, 2:30-6 p.m. ET
The course: Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Fla. A par-72 course, it ranked fourth in difficulty among the PGA Tour's 51 courses. The course record is 62, recorded by Andy Bean in 1981 and Greg Norman in 1984. Thirteen players have recorded aces at the course, most recently Vaughn Taylor and Webb Simpson in 2009. Key hole: the par-4, 458-yard 18th, this week's Kodak Challenge hole.
The field: Serious star power, particularly on the American side: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson, as well as newcomers and recent winners like Jhonattan Vegas, Gary Woodland and D.A. Points. Oh yeah, and Graeme McDowell, too.
The fantasy picks: Tiger Woods (A-List; why not? it's one of his best courses); Hunter Mahan and Webb Simpson (B-List); Chris Couch (C-List).
The relevant video: Payne Stewart won here, Robert Gamez had an exceptional hole-out to win here, and Tiger Woods utterly dominated here. It's all here:
Enjoy the tournament, everybody! Make your picks below!
Jennifer Sky Samantha Mathis Samantha Morton Grace Park Jill Wagner
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