The start of the Arnold Palmer Invitational will leave a lot of golf fans feeling that the PGA Tour has very much put itself on the road towards Magnolia Lane and the first major of the year at the Masters.
Many of the world’s best players – nine of the top 10, in fact – will tee it up at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, with Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy set to be the heavy favourites to triumph at Bay Hill. Meanwhile, Xander Schauffele is set to make his return from injury.
With Masters starting to appear on the horizon, there is going to be plenty of interest in how the big names fare over the coming days.
Both of Scheffler’s victories at Augusta National have come in the same year as his wins at Bay Hill. So we are certainly reaching the point where the look of a player’s form perhaps means a little more.
Arnold Palmer Invitational organisers told they have made a big mistake
However, some fans may feel that there is one glaring omission from the field.
It was announced this past week that Jordan Spieth will miss out on an invite for the event. Spieth had previously been invited to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as well as the Genesis Invitational.
Spieth seemed to mock the decision, joking that he obviously did not play well enough while injured to justify a spot. And it seems that he is not alone in thinking that the organisers have made a mistake.
Speaking on The Smylie Show, Smylie Kaufman insisted that the tournament will be worse off for not having Spieth involved.
“You saw Jordan’s comments at the end of the day just saying how bummed he was to not get a spot. It’s interesting because you could look at it both ways. One way you look at it, that hey, you’re giving other guys opportunities. The other way you look at it is Jordan is on a list of three or four players that are the needle – when he plays well, people turn the TV on,” he said.
“When he’s in a final group, when he’s going a chance, people come out and watch. And I think that was a big mistake personally, being somebody that’s on the TV side. There isn’t one person out at Orlando that didn’t want him to play. So just from that aspect of it, yes we wanted him. You could understand or you could make any excuse for him not getting a spot and giving other guys opportunities because I think it’s great when other guys get opportunities. It’s a c–p system that we’re in right now with the signature events, and 70 dudes is not enough. It should be 100, you’re just boxing yourself in and you’re putting yourself in a corner right now and you’re making it tough and they overthink it.
“I hope the guys that they picked play well. I just think that there’s nobody that they picked that will ever move the needle more so than Jordan would have.”
How Jordan Spieth has performed at Bay Hill during his career
Two things can ultimately be true on this matter. The Arnold Palmer Invitational organisers have probably made an error not inviting Spieth as they look to make their event as successful as possible. Meanwhile, Spieth can hardly be upset having already received two invites to signature events this year.
He has also only played in the event on three occasions during his career, making his debut in 2021. In that time, he has two top four finishes, while he was tied for 30th in 2024.
At a time when the PGA Tour is in greater danger than ever of becoming a closed shop, it makes a lot of sense to invite some other names.
And while not having Spieth involved may hurt ratings, there is no doubt at all that it is looking like a phenomenal field – even without the three-time major champion.
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