The third signature event of the season is here and an already-loaded field is set to get even stronger with the return of one of the Tour’s biggest stars at this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Two-time major champion Justin Thomas is set to make his season debut this week after undergoing surgery to address a disc issue in his back last November, and will be in line for a tough first test at Bay Hill Lodge & Club, one of the most revered regular stops on Tour.
Thomas last played competitively at the 45th Ryder Cup matches at Bethpage Black in September, playing to a 2-2-0 record across four matches. During the highly-anticipated Sunday singles event, Thomas edged out Tommy Fleetwood to keep his perfect singles record intact and spark a late comeback attempt from the Americans.
The Louisville, KY native also found his way back into the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour last season, defeating Andrew Novak in a playoff at the RBC Heritage to triumphantly end a nearly three-year drought.
Thomas got back into the swing of things with his appearance for the Atlanta Drive at TGL on Feb. 23, and is now just days away from making his PGA return at Arnie’s Place.
How is he preparing for the challenge of taking on the difficult 7,446-yard, par-72 track while competing against a star-studded field at the signature event?
“[I’m] just trying to play, get out there as often as I can,” Thomas said. “Different winds, different grasses, different lies, different scenarios, and obviously would love to play well next week, but I’m also understanding that it’ll be almost five, six months since I played a competitive tournament.
“So I’m not exactly expecting anything great, but at least everybody else will be struggling with me at Bay Hill. So that’ll make me feel a little bit better.”
The 16-time PGA Tour winner has made four starts at the API, with his best finish coming back in 2024, a tie for 12th.
Also competing this week is two-time API winner Scottie Scheffler - who returns to Bay Hill fresh off of having his streak of 18 consecutive top-10s snapped - and 2018 winner Rory McIlroy following his first close call of the season, a runner-up finish at the Genesis Invitational.
Canadians Nick Taylor, Taylor Pendrith, and Corey Conners are also set to tee it up after the trio finished inside the top 50 of last year’s FedEx Cup points list.
Both Taylor and Pendrith have had their share of struggles at Bay Hill with two made cuts between them across five combined starts, but Conners owns a pair of third-place finishes, including one at last year’s tournament.
Conners, of Listowel, Ont., battled a cold putter and made just one birdie across the course of the final round, before finishing two strokes back of eventual winner Russell Henley on Sunday.
He will look to once again play his way into contention this time around with $4 million and 700 FedEx Cup points set to be awarded to the winner.
Canadian PGA Tour rookie Sudarshan Yellamaraju is currently listed as an alternate for the event thanks to his strong play to open the year, though it is unlikely he will see a start with eight other golfers in front of him also awaiting a late invite.
How to watch Arnold Palmer Invitational on TSN, TSN+
The action gets underway on Thursday morning with Main Feed coverage beginning on TSN+ at 7:30 a.m. ET / 4:30 a.m. PT.
A pair of additional feeds are available for viewing on TSN+ during the opening round, with the Featured Groups feed beginning at 8:15 a.m. ET / 5:15 a.m. PT and the well as the Marquee Group feed at 8:30 a.m. ET / 5:30 a.m. PT.
Friday’s coverage mirrors the plan from Thursday, with all three streams beginning at the same time they did on the previous day on TSN+.
Third-round coverage on Saturday gets underway on TSN+ with the Main Feed at 9 a.m. ET / 6 a.m. PT.
The Featured Groups feed begins at 9:45 a.m. ET / 6;45 a.m. PT, followed by the Marquee Group feed at 10 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. PT.
Moving day action will then head over to TSN4 at 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT.
Sunday’s final round gets started on TSN+ with Main Feed coverage beginning at 9 a.m. ET / 6 a.m. PT. Additional streams for the final round include the Featured Groups (9:45 a.m. ET / 6:45 a.m. PT) and Marquee Group feeds (10 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. PT).
Coverage of the final round then shifts over to TSN4 at 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. for the remainder of the tournament.
*featured and marquee groups are still yet to be announced
