The 31st Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard will feature
defending champion Tiger Woods along with most of the players from the
recent Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams. The PGA Tour event is scheduled
for March 23-29 at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida.
The world’s No. 1 player and a five-time winner at Bay Hill, Woods will be
joined by the other two current major champions, Trevor Immelman and
Padraig Harrington, among 29 players entered from the top 50 of the Official
World Golf Ranking.
In addition to Woods, past Bay Hill winners in the field of 120 players are
Vijay Singh, Kenny Perry, Fred Couples, Paul Azinger, Chad Campbell, Rod
Pampling, Tim Herron, Andrew Magee, Paul Goydos and Robert Gamez.
Nine members of Captain Azinger’s victorious 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup team
are entered. They are Campbell, Perry, Stewart Cink, Ben Curtis, Jim Furyk,
J.B. Holmes, Anthony Kim, Hunter Mahan and Boo Weekley. From the
European Ryder Cup team are Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter,
Justin Rose and Oliver Wilson.
The latest Presidents Cup teams, from 2007, will be well-represented
with 10 players from the American team and eight from the International team.
These include U.S. players Woody Austin, Lucas Glover, Charles Howell III,
Zach Johnson, David Toms and Scott Verplank, and International players
Stuart Appleby, Angel Cabrera, Retief Goosen, Nick O’Hern, Adam Scott and
Mike Weir.
Among the 19 players who received sponsor exemptions is Rocco
Mediate, appearing in a tournament with Woods for the first time since their
playoff at the U.S. Open last June. Woods had surgery on his left knee after
that and did not play again until last month. This will be his third tournament
of 2009.
For tickets or more information on the Arnold Palmer Invitational
presented by MasterCard, log on to the tournament web site,
www.arnoldpalmerinvitational.com or call the Bay Hill ticket office at 407-876-
7774 or toll free at 1-866-764-4843. Tournament proceeds benefit the Arnold
Palmer Hospital for Children and the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and
Babies.