Sobel’s Arnold Palmer Invitational Tournament Matchups: Matsuyama, Poulter Lead the Way

Imagine if there were individual matchup bets back in Arnold Palmer’s prime…

The King ranks fifth all-time with 62 career PGA Tour victories and seventh on the list with seven major championships.

If you were throwing around some wagers 50-plus years ago, Palmer would’ve been a good bet nearly anyplace, anytime.

But matchups, man, that’s where he would’ve thrived.

Even though most players probably don’t know who the books have aligned them against on any given week, Palmer was the type who might’ve taken a quick glance and ensured his backers would still be fans of his come Sunday evening.

I mention all of this because this week’s tournament is Palmer’s eponymous invitational at his Bay Hill home, where we’re be looking for a few players to do their best Arnie impersonation and win some matchups. Here are my three favorite bets:

Ian Poulter over Phil Mickelson (-115)

This seems like a confluence of good vibes and good form for Poulter.

An Orlando resident, he’s done plenty of work for Palmer’s foundation and supports this tournament every year. He also plays it well, making the cut in each start here this decade.

Throw in the fact that he’d red-hot, with results of 3-6-3-6 in his last four starts and this feels like a good place to take Poulter – especially against Mickelson, who surprisingly put this one back on his schedule after leaving it out of his personal rotation for so many years.

Hideki Matsuyama over Francesco Molinari (-135)

I’m not sure how many more times I can pick Hideki, only to get excited for a while before he comes up short on the weekend. That said, I’m going back to the well this week, as I think he’s primed for a big one very soon.

Molinari just announced a deal with Callaway that involves full bag and golf ball. As we’ve seen recently, that kind of move means less these days than it did years ago, but I still think it could have an impact.

Lucas Glover over Louis Oosthuizen (-120)

For a guy who once won the U.S. Open, it’s a major statement to say that Glover is playing the best golf of his life, but he’s never enjoyed a profitable stretch like the one he’s on right now.

He’s been a model of consistency – and while he hasn’t played his best golf at Bay Hill over the years, it’s tough to see him completely falling off here.

As for Oosthuizen, he’s looked very beatable in limited starts so far this year. He can always pop up on any leaderboard, but Glover’s recent results make him the safe play here.