Despite all the talk about top-tier tour pros skipping the first Arnold Palmer Invitational since The King's death in September, this is actually a pretty star-studded field. As our Brian Wacker points out, 64 world ranking points will go to the winner and 14 of the top 25 players in the world will tee it up at Bay Hill. Leading that list is World No. 2 Jason Day, who also happens to be the defending champ. But does the Aussie lead our list of golfers you should plug into your fantasy lineup this week? Here's the foursome we're going with:
Henrik Stenson: Just check out the Swede's stats in this event since 2012:
A T-8 is the worst finish for the Swede at Bay Hill during that stretch and he's coming off a T-7 at the Valspar Championship -- although he made more news for that adorable moment with his daughter:
Brandt Snedeker: We're feeling the good vibes for Sneds this week at Bay Hill, and not just because of those Mastercard commercials he did with Arnold Palmer. The guy just seems to be charmed at this event. How else can you explain this shot?
OK, so he's never won at Bay Hill, but he has a couple of top 15s and he's coming off a T-7 at the WGC-Mexico Championship. A first API win this year would be a fitting tribute to his legendary friend.
Rickie Fowler: Speaking of having good mojo, have you seen Fowler's special shoes for this week?
Fowler finished T-3 at Bay Hill in 2013 and he's coming off that win at the Honda Classic and T-16 in Mexico. After a rough second half to 2016, Fowler has returned to being a nearly weekly play.
Wesley Bryan: The former trick-, sorry, just a force of habit. After three consecutive top 10s (Two T-4s and a T-7), Bryan has firmly established himself as a rising star on the PGA Tour. Bryan is making his first start at Bay Hill, but we're not worried considering how quickly he's adapted to everything else during his rookie season.
Bench: Jason Day and Rory McIlroy. Keep the big guns ready. Just in case. . .
And for those of you playing other fantasy golf formats:
Yahoo! lineup: Rickie Fowler, Brandt Snedeker, Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson (Starters); Jason Day, Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Rose, Wesley Bryan (Bench).
Knockout/One-and-done pick: Brandt Snedeker.
Meanwhile, here's a link to this week's fantasy podcast, where Joel Beall and Stephen Hennessey discuss all things API:
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