Three reasons why Rory McIlroy can be confident of winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational ahead of Scottie Scheffler

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Rory McIlroy makes his return to the PGA Tour this week, with the Northern Irishman taking on the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

McIlroy has really impressed on the PGA Tour in recent years, and that has been true once more in 2025 so far.

Four-time major champion McIlroy won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, in what was his first PGA Tour start of 2025.

He followed that up by finishing T17 at the Genesis Invitational, with his focus now on the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.

McIlroy tops the European Ryder Cup standings thanks to his fine form, and is certain to feature for the visitors at Bethpage Black later this year.

Why Rory McIlroy can win the Arnold Palmer Invitational ahead of Scottie Scheffler

But he will be eager to clinch many more PGA Tour titles before the team event, with the next edition of the Ryder Cup not taking place until September.

READ MORE: The controversial comments Rory McIlroy made about Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in 2016 which got him ‘absolutely roasted’

Picking up more wins between now and then certainly won’t be easy, particularly with the return of Scottie Scheffler from injury, but there are a handful of reasons why his next success can arrive this week.

Rory McIlroy boasts superb Arnold Palmer Invitational record

Perhaps the biggest reason why McIlroy can shine at the Arnold Palmer Invitational is his superb history at the tournament.

As per the PGA Tour, he boasts a fantastic six top-10s and eight top-25s in his last eight starts, having won the event in 2018, when he finished three shots ahead of Bryson DeChambeau.

Rory McIlroy handed Bay Hill confidence boost with OWGR rise

Despite skipping the Cognizant Classic last week, McIlroy has been handed a huge confidence boost ahead of his next appearance at Bay Hill.

READ MORE: Jon Rahm’s new official world golf ranking exposes major problem with the current state of the sport

Scheffler retains the number one spot in the official world golf ranking (OWGR), but the Northern Irishman has overtaken Xander Schauffele into second place.

Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy paired together for Arnold Palmer Invitational

McIlroy currently sits on 27 PGA Tour wins, but he was pushed all the way by close friend Shane Lowry for his most recent, with the latter finishing just two shots behind the former at Pebble Beach.

The duo won the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans together and have enjoyed superb memories at the Ryder Cup, and should now be able to motivate one another after being paired together for the first two rounds at Bay Hill.