Arnie’s Event – All You Need To Know Including Name Of Arnie’s Dog.

8 months ago by Comments Off on Arnie’s Event – All You Need To Know Including Name Of Arnie’s Dog.

The Arnold Palmer Invitational is one of only five tournaments given “invitational” status by the PGA Tour.

Consequently, it has a reduced field of only 72 players this year (as compared to most full-field open tournaments with fields of 144 or 156 players).

The other four tournaments with invitational status are the Genesis Invitational, RBC Heritage, the Fort Worth Invitational, and the Memorial Tournament.

Major Champions in this year’s 2025 field:  13

World Ranking range:  No. 1 Scottie Scheffler to No. 175th Isaish Salinda

Most wins:  Tiger Woods 8 (2000 to 2013)

First staged:  1966 (Florida Citrus Open Invitational).  Known as Arnold Palmer Invitational since 2007.

Arnie’s red cardigan sweater:  Has been awarded each year to the winner in memory of Arnold Palmer, a tradition that began with the 2017 tournament after Palmer’s death in 2016.

Name of Arnie’s beloved labrador:  Mulligan

Ludvig Åberg

  • Current FedExCup leader is making his first start since winning The Genesis Invitational
  • Third start at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (T24/2023, T25/2024); competed in 2023 as an amateur on a sponsor exemption in what was his fourth career TOUR start
  • Two PGA TOUR victories in 40 starts on the PGA TOUR (2023 RSM Classic, 2025 Genesis Invitational)
  • Fifth start of the 2025 season, with two top-five finishes: The Sentry/T5 and The Genesis Invitational/Won

Nick Dunlap

  • 2024 Arnold Palmer Award recipient as the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year
  • With wins at the 2024 American Express (amateur) and 2024 Barracuda Championship, became the first player in PGA TOUR history to win as an amateur and professional in the same season
  • Making his second start at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (T48/2024)
  • Seventh start of the 2025 season (best: T10/Sony Open in Hawaii)
  • Finished No. 49 in the 2024 FedExCup; finished T5 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship to move from No. 67 to No. 48 in the FedExCup standings and advance to the BMW Championship

 Jackson Koivun

  • Arnold Palmer Cup Exemption recipient and current sophomore at Auburn University received a spot in the field by virtue of a vote from his peers at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup last July, which the U.S. won at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland over their International counterparts
  • Making his tournament debut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard
  • No. 2-ranked amateur currently holds 18 points in PGA TOUR University Accelerated and can reach the 20-point threshold to become eligible for PGA TOUR membership with a made cut (1 point) and top-10 finish (1 point) this week; last week, Florida State junior Luke Clanton became the second player (Gordon Sargent) to become eligible for PGA TOUR membership through PGA TOUR University Accelerated after making the cut at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches (finished T18).
  • Fourth start on the PGA TOUR: 2024 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday/T52, 2024 Rocket Classic/MC, 2025 Farmers Insurance Open/T56
  • While leading Auburn to the 2024 National Championship, became the third player in SEC history to earn SEC Freshman of the Year and SEC Player of the Year honors in the same season
  • First college player to sweep the Fred Haskins, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Phil Mickelson national awards in the same season

Rory McIlroy

  • 2018 champion is making his 11th career start at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and has played every year since his debut in 2015
  • Six career top-10s at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard are the most of any player since 2015 (4/Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton)
  • Career-low 64 (R4/2018) in 40 career rounds at Bay Hill
  • Third start of the 2025 season (Won/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, T17/The Genesis Invitational)

Xander Schauffele

  • Following rehab of a rib injury, World No. 2 making his first start since finishing T30 at The Sentry
  • Making fourth start at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (T24/2020, T39/2023, T25/2024)
  • First-round 68 in 2023 marks his only score sub-70 score in 12 career rounds at Bay Hill
  • Most recent of nine PGA TOUR victories came at the 2024 Open Championship
  • Holds the TOUR’s current longest streak of consecutive made cuts at 57

Scottie Scheffler

  • World No. 1 and reigning FedExCup champion in search of first official victory since the 2024 TOUR Championship (won 2024 Hero World Challenge)
  • Five-stroke victory in 2024 was the largest margin of victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard since 2012 (5 strokes/Tiger Woods)
  • In addition to wins at THE PLAYERS, Masters Tournament and TOUR Championship in 2024, captured four titles at Signature Events: Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, RBC Heritage, the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday and Travelers Championship
  • Making fifth Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard start (T15/2020, Won/2022, T4/2023, Won/2024)
  • One of eight multiple winners of the event: Tiger Woods (8), Jerry Heard (2), Gary Koch (2), Tom Kite (2), Loren Roberts (2), Ernie Els (2), Matt Every (2)
  • Making fourth start of the 2025 season (best: T3/The Genesis Invitational)

Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard notes:

  • The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard is the 10th event of the 2025 PGA TOUR Season and the fourth of eight Signature Events. Like all Signature Events, the limited-field event offers increased FedExCup points (700) and a heightened purse ($20 million), however, additional elements set the three player-hosted events apart (The Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday):
    • Only Signature Events to feature a cut: 36-hole cut, low 50 players and ties and any additional players within 10 strokes of the 36-hole lead
    • 20 percent prize allocation to winner ($4 million), up from 18 percent
    • One tournament host exemption, not restricted to PGA TOUR members: The Genesis Invitational (Danny List, the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption), Arnold Palmer Invitation presented by Mastercard (Jackson Koivun, Arnold Palmer Cup Exemption), the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday (Jack Nicklaus Award)
  • The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard is the first of four PGA TOUR events (the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, RBC Canadian Open, Genesis Scottish Open) that is part of The Open Qualifying Series (OQS) where one spot will be available into the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush. The top player, not otherwise exempt, that makes the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard will earn an exemption. In the event of a tie for a qualifying place, the player with the higher ranking in the OWGR at the beginning of the week will earn the spot.
  • There has not been a playoff at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard since 1999. In the 25 events since then, 13 have been decided by one stroke.
  • Additional field features:
    • 33 players who participated in last week’s Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, including champion Joe Highsmith and the following players who also finished inside the top 10: Jacob Bridgeman (T2), J.J. Spaun (T2), Max McGreevy (T4), Ben Griffin (T4), Russell Henley (T6), Michael Kim (T6)
    • 45 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, including all of the top five: No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, No. 2 Rory McIlroy, No. 3 Xander Schauffele, No. 4 Ludvig Åberg and No. 5 Collin Morikawa
    • Three past champions (four wins): Jason Day (2016), Rory McIlroy (2018), Scottie Scheffler (2022, 2024)
    • Seven past FedExCup champions (nine wins): Billy Horschel (2014), Rory McIlroy (2016/2019/2022), Justin Thomas (2017), Justin Rose (2018), Patrick Cantlay (2021), Viktor Hovland (2023), Scottie Scheffler (2024)
    • Sponsor exemptions: Rafael Campos, Mackenzie Hughes, Min Woo Lee, Justin Rose
    • Tournament host exemption (Arnold Palmer Cup Exemption): Jackson Koivun
    • Aon Next 10: Nick Taylor, Maverick McNealy, Harris English, Joe Highsmith, J.J. Spaun, Brian Campbell, Michael Kim, Patrick Rodgers, Daniel Berger, Sam Stevens
    • Aon Swing 5: Aldrich Potgieter, Jacob Bridgeman, Ben Griffin, Isaiah Salinda, Max McGreevy
    • Top 30 in Official World Golf Ranking: Tom Kim (No. 26)
    • Fill the field to 72 players: Lucas Glover, Andrew Novak

PGA TOUR season notes

  • Second-year TOUR member Joe Highsmith (Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches) became the first player on TOUR to win after making the cut on the number since Brandt Snedeker (2016 Farmers Insurance Open); sixth player to accomplish the feat since 2003
  • Highsmith’s four-stroke come-from-behind victory was the largest on TOUR this season and the largest since the 2024 PLAYERS Championship (5 strokes/Scottie Scheffler)
  • Highsmith is one of six players (Jacob Bridgeman, Brian Campbell, Max McGreevy, Aldrich Potgieter, Isaiah Salinda) that will make their first start in a Signature Event (since 2024) this week
  • Three first-time winners in 2025: Thomas Detry (WM Phoenix Open), Brian Campbell (Mexico Open at VidantaWorld), Joe Highsmith (Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches)
  • International players have won six of the first nine events this season: Hideki Matsuyama/Japan, Nick Taylor/Canada, Sepp Straka/Austria, Rory McIlroy/Northern Ireland, Thomas Detry/Belgium, Ludvig Åberg/Sweden
  • Three American winners in nine events: Harris English (Farmers Insurance Open), Brian Campbell (Mexico Open at VidantaWorld), Joe Highsmith (Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches)


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