ORLANDO – All 52 players in the field at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill were required to participate in the Pro-am tee off with various groups on Wednesday afternoon, March 20.
There were 52 groups in total. One tour professional was paired with three amateurs and the various groups had tee times that went from 7:30 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.
They split the groups up so half would tee off on the first and the other half would tee off on the 10th tee at the same time.
The very first one on the course with a tee time of 7:30 a.m. was none other than Tiger Woods, who is the favorite to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill for the eighth time to tie a record with Sam Snead, who has won the Greater Greensboro Open eight times as well.
Not only would Woods tie that record, but he would earn back the No. 1 ranking in the world with a win at Bay Hill this week, an event he has won seven times. He hasn’t held the No. 1 ranking since October 2010 when Lee Westwood ended his consecutive streak at No. 1.
Tiger Woods begins play on Thursday at the 10th tee at 8:05 a.m. with Ernie Els and Justin Rose. This will be Woods’ last preparation prior to the first major of the year, the Masters, which begins April 11.
