Best bets for PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational

Before Will Zalatoris finished second at the Masters last year en route to earning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honors, he took 10th in his first appearance at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

VSiN host Wes Reynolds and Westgate SuperBook oddsmaker Jeff Sherman like Zalatoris as one of their best bets to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which tees off Thursday at Bay Hill in Orlando, Florida.

Zalatoris, who lost the Farmers Insurance Open in January in a playoff with Luke List, is 29-1 at Boyd Gaming sportsbook.

“He’s been knocking on the door this year, and I know it’s just a matter of time for him to win,” said Sherman (@golfodds). “His all-around game has been great. His only issue has been putting. If he can overcome that aspect, he’s right there with anyone in the field.”

Reynolds, co-host of VSiN’s “Long Shots” golf betting show, noted that Zalatoris was the recipient of the Arnold Palmer scholarship when he played at Wake Forest, Palmer’s alma mater.

“He got some scar tissue a few weeks ago losing in the playoff at Torrey Pines in pursuit of his first PGA Tour win,” said Reynolds (@WesReynolds1).

Sherman and Reynolds also like Keith Mitchell as one of their best bets. Mitchell, who has five finishes of 12th or better in his past six events, is 41-1 at Boyd Gaming.

“He’s been playing solid this entire calendar season,” Sherman said. “He should be in contention.”

Sherman also likes Maverick McNealy, who is a 60-1 long shot at Caesars Sportsbook.

“I’ve been on him for most of this season,” he said. “He’s just one of those young guys I’ve targeted that I think is going to get his first win this year.”

Here are the rest of Reynolds’ best bets:

Viktor Hovland, 18-1

Hovland has four wins worldwide in his past 17 events and was tied for third at Bay Hill entering the weekend last year.

Paul Casey, 42-1

Casey has two wins in Florida at the Valspar Championship and has made the top 10 in two of his past three starts at the Arnold Palmer.

“While Casey can often have trouble with the putter, he tends to perform best on very fast greens like he will see this week,” Reynolds said.

Billy Horschel, 53-1

Last year was the first time Horschel missed the cut in nine appearances at Bay Hill. Before struggling on the greens at last week’s Honda Classic, “Bermuda Billy” had been in good form with the putter and around the greens.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout, 65-1

He finished seventh at the Arnold Palmer last year and shot a 66 on Sunday for the second-lowest score in the final round of the Honda Classic.

“His short game is one of the best in the world, and that has stayed true,” Reynolds said.

Chris Kirk, 75-1

A four-time PGA Tour winner who took time away from the game in 2020 to deal with alcohol issues, Kirk is coming off two good finishes, placing 14th in Phoenix and seventh last week at the Honda. He finished eighth at Bay Hill last year and has placed 15th or better in four of his past five appearances.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.