GOLF PICK 'EM: API MATCHUP BREAKDOWNS
BY WILL GRAY
Golf Pick 'Em is back for another season of picks and prizes in the NBC Sports Predictor app.
The free-to-play game has returned in 2021 and continues this week with the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Each week participants will choose between a series of head-to-head matchups, plus select an overall tournament champion and winning score.
Participants can compete for weekly cash prizes, with a $50,000 jackpot available for any participants who earn a perfect score (increasing up to $100,000 during the biggest events of the year). There will also be at least $1,000 awarded each week in cash and prizes, even if there is no player with a perfect score.
Here's a look at some of the keys to this week's set of nine matchups at Bay Hill, as the Tour continues a four-week stint in Florida:
Rory McIlroy vs. Tyrrell Hatton
Keys: These two combined to win at Bay Hill two of the last three years, with McIlroy taking the title in 2018 and Hatton earning his first PGA Tour win in Orlando last year right before global competition ground to a halt. McIlroy has finished T-16 or better in four of his five worldwide starts this year, while Hatton won earlier this year in Abu Dhabi and enters off a T-22 finish at Concession.
Edge: McIlroy
Jordan Spieth vs. Patrick Reed
Keys: These two former Ryder Cup partners have earned plenty of headlines in recent weeks, with Reed winning at Torrey Pines and Spieth sparking something of a renaissance. It'll be Spieth's first trip to Bay Hill after he watched last week's WGC from home, while Reed has made four of five cuts highlighted by a T-8 showing in 2018 and finished T-9 last week across the state.
Edge: Reed
Bryson DeChambeau vs. Viktor Hovland
Keys: These two former U.S. Amateur champs take different approaches but have racked up similarly strong results in recent months. DeChambeau had a wild week in Bradenton, shooting 77-64 over the first two rounds, and has two top-4 results here over the last three years. Hovland has finished T-42 and T-40 in his two prior trips to Bay Hill but remains on a heater, with his T-2 at Workday his sixth top-6 finish in his last seven starts.
Edge: Hovland
Keys: These two Aussies went back-to-back at Bay Hill, with Day winning here in 2016 and Leishman in 2017. They've slowed in recent months but there may be signs of a bounce back, as Day finished T-7 last month at Pebble and Leishman started the year with three straight top-25s. Leishman has finished T-7 or better here three out of the last four years, including a runner-up result last year.
Edge: Leishman
Francesco Molinari vs. Tommy Fleetwood
Keys: The return of the vaunted "Moliwood" duo from the 2018 Ryder Cup. After a 2020 to forget Molinari has turned a corner, posting top-10 finishes in three of his last four starts before returning to a course where he won in 2019. Fleetwood struggled last week in Bradenton but finished T-10 in 2017 in his Bay Hill debut and T-3 two years later behind Molinari.
Edge: Molinari
Rickie Fowler vs. Hideki Matsuyama
Keys: Fowler's affinity, both for this event and its legendary namesake, is no secret. He's making his 10th Bay Hill appearance but has cracked the top 10 only once, a T-3 finish back in 2013. He finished T-20 at Riviera but still needs a strong finish soon to keep alive his chances of a Masters invite. Matsuyama has never missed the cut in six Bay Hill appearances and finished T-15 at last week's WGC event.
Edge: Matsuyama
Keys: Im has become something of a Florida success story, notching his first Tour win last year at the Honda and finishing third each of the last two years at Bay Hill. English broke a lengthy victory drought at Kapalua in January and finished T-9 at this event a year ago but finished near the bottom of the pack last week at Concession after a final-round 80.
Edge: Im
Matthew Fitzpatrick vs. Paul Casey
Keys: A pair of Englishmen square off here, with Fitzpatrick riding some strong form after three straight finishes of T-17 or better including a near-miss at Riviera. But Casey might have him beat in the momentum department, with finishes of T-12 or better in all four starts this year including a win in Dubai. Casey's lone top-10 finish in seven Bay Hill starts came back in 2016, while Fitzpatrick was a runner-up here in 2019 and has finished T-13 or better in three of his last four trips to Orlando.
Edge: Fitzpatrick
Justin Rose vs. Henrik Stenson
Keys: These two European veterans have plenty of Bay Hill experience, not to mention years logged as Orlando residents. Rose finished second here in 2013 and third in 2018 and Stenson had even more success, reeling off four top-5 finishes in a five-year stretch from 2014-18. Rose finished T-54 out of 71 players last week in Bradenton, while Stenson hasn't cracked the top 20 in any worldwide event since his win at the Hero World Challenge in December 2019.
Edge: Rose
