One year ago, we were treated to Bryson DeChambeauās bombs off the tee of the par 5, 6th hole at Bay Hill on the way to his win in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
In case you forgot, DeChambeau launched his tee shots across the lake the hole wraps around, leaving himself only 90 yards to the green for his second shot.
It was amazing.
The chance to see that happen again this year is gone, as DeChambeau withdrew this week due to injury.
But even without the defending champ, it is a loaded field as the PGA Tour gets ready to head into next weekās THE PLAYERS Championship.
Some fun facts about Bay Hill before we get into our picks.
*Long irons are the key here. Since 2016 Bay Hill has required more approach shots of over 200 yards than any other PGA Tour stop.
*It is a quandary of a course as the par 5ās are mostly reachable, but the players will see some long par 3ās as a counter.
* Itās a tough scoring course, as one could guess from the long approaches. Only three players since 2007 have scored 14-under or better. In fact, in 2021 the average score was a little bit above one over par.
*While the course has played tough for many, Tiger Woods owned it. He played the tournament 16 times between 1997-2013 and made every cut, winning the tournament eight times.
This week the national fantasy golf league I participate has asked us to pick two golfers and the most money won wins the week.
Last week it was three golfers and despite all three of my golfers making the cut, I didnāt get the win. This week I am going straight to the top to get in the hunt.
My two picks are Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm. Itās an interesting contrast for this went. McIlroy has played in the tournament seven times and has made the cut all seven times. He won the tournament in 2018 and has five straight, top 10 finishes.
Rahm, the top ranked player in the world, is making his hard to believe first start at Bay Hill. There is no doubt he has all the tools to win here and will want to be on his game heading into THE PLAYERS.
By Dennis Miller