Bay Hill is one of the most coveted tournaments each and every year on the PGA Tour schedule, and this year’s event is going to be no exception whatsoever. Today, we take a look at the Arnold Palmer Invitational odds, as well as our 2012 Bay Hill predictions for this tremendous event!

2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational Predictions & Info
2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational Dates: Thursday, March 22nd – Sunday, March 25th, 2012
2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational Location: Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, FL
Defending Arnold Palmer Invitational Winner: Martin Laird
2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational TV Coverage – Network: Golf Channel, NBC

Last year, the Bay Hill Invitational was certainly not an event that Tiger Woods (Bay Hill Odds: 6.80 @ Sportbet Sportsbook) wanted to remember. An event held right in his own backyard, Woods has dominated here at Bay Hill, winning the title six times, more than any other golfer in the history of the event. However, last year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational was a disaster for one of the top golfers of our time, as he had three rounds in the 70s and was never really in contention. This year though, it appears as though Woods is a bit more set to be at the top of his game, and with that being said, we know that he is going to be able to find his way around this course just find. He’s coming off of another injury that caused him to leave a tournament recently, and that might be something worth watching as Tiger tries to go his mojo back.

The man of the hour that is going to be returning as the champ is Martin Laird (PGA Odds: 60 to 1 @ Sportbet Sportsbook). Laird won his second ever PGA Tour event last year by firing a -8, 280. He wasn’t all that special on the last day of the event, shooting a suspect 75, but on a day where a ton of the scores were high, that was good enough to give him the one stroke lead. The Scottsman started off the year in fine form, finishing second at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, but after that, things have more or less just fallen apart, as he hasn’t been in serious contention at any event, save for a quarterfinal finish at the Accenture Match Play Championships. He’ll love to be back here at Bay Hill though, and he could be a force to be reckoned with once again this year.

List Of Past Bay Hill/Arnold Palmer Invitational Winners (Since 2000)
2011 – Martin Laird
2010 – Ernie Els
2009 – Tiger Woods
2008 – Tiger Woods
2007 – Vijay Singh
2006 – Rod Pampling
2005 – Kenny Perry
2004 – Chad Campbell
2003 – Tiger Woods
2002 – Tiger Woods
2001 – Tiger Woods
2000 – Tiger Woods

Of course, we are going to have to pay some attention to Phil Mickelson (Odds to Win The Arnold Palmer Invitational: 12.50 to 1 @ Sportbet Sportsbook). Save for a terrible effort in his second tourney of the year at the Farmers Insurance Open, Mickelson has done just about everything right. He won the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and he nearly won a second straight week by finishing in second at the Northern Trust Open as well. Bay Hill is the type of course that Lefty really can do some damage on, and as long as you believe that Tiger is still tamed for the most part, Mickelson is the golfer that you are going to have to play the closest attention to come the latter stages of this tournament.

Another golfer that is going to be worth keeping an eye on is Webb Simpson (Odds to Win The Bay Hill Invitational: 20 to 1 @ Sportbet Sportsbook). Last year was really the first time that we had spoken about Simpson as a potential threat to win a tournament. As it turned out, he finished the year ranked second in the sport on the money list, racking up well over $6.6M in earnings. Victories at the Wyndham Championship and the Deutsche Bank Championship helped out dramatically as well. Early on this year, Simpson is once again doing well, and he might be shooting up your list of golfers that you will want to back on the Arnold Palmer odds this year. Simpson is coming off of a 10th place finish in last week’s Transitions Championship, which might be a good sign for him going forward here at Bay Hill.

Betting Odds to Win Arnold Palmer Invitational @ Sportbet Sportsbook (as of 3/20/12):
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Tiger Woods 6.80 to 1
Phil Mickelson 12.50 to 1
Justin Rose 17.50 to 1
Webb Simpson 20 to 1
Sergio Garcia 23 to 1
Hunter Mahan 25 to 1
Bubba Watson 30 to 1
Bo Van Pelt 32 to 1
Jim Furyk 36 to 1
Nick Watney 36 to 1
Bill Haas 40 to 1
Graeme McDowell 44 to 1
Ernie Els 48 to 1
Brandt Snedeker 55 to 1
KJ Choi 55 to 1
Jason Dufner 60 to 1
Martin Laird 60 to 1
Sang Moon Bae 60 to 1
Spencer Levin 60 to 1
Zach Johnson 60 to 1
Jeff Overton 70 to 1
Gary Woodland 75 to 1
Charles Howell III 80 to 1
David Toms 80 to 1
Fredrik Jacobson 85 to 1
Kevin Na 85 to 1
Sean O’Hair 85 to 1
Mark Wilson 90 to 1
Robert Garrigus 90 to 1
Stewart Cink 90 to 1
Thomas Bjorn 90 to 1
Ben Crane 95 to 1
Vijay Singh 100 to 1
Robert Allenby 110 to 1
Johnson Wagner 120 to 1
Henrik Stenson 130 to 1
Ian Poulter 140 to 1
John Rollins 140 to 1
Ryan Moore 140 to 1
Scott Piercy 140 to 1
George McNeill 150 to 1
Ryan Palmer 150 to 1
Bud Cauley 160 to 1
Ken Duke 160 to 1
Carl Pettersson 170 to 1
Chris Stroud 170 to 1
Harris English 170 to 1
Jimmy Walker 170 to 1
Ryo Ishikawa 170 to 1
Brendon De Jonge 180 to 1
DA Points 180 to 1
John Mallinger 180 to 1
Pat Perez 180 to 1
Cameron Tringale 190 to 1
JB Holmes 190 to 1
Jonathan Byrd 190 to 1
Ricky Barnes 190 to 1
Greg Chalmers 200 to 1
Trevor Immelman 200 to 1
Brian Gay 210 to 1
Chez Reavie 210 to 1
Harrison Frazar 210 to 1
John Huh 210 to 1
Rory Sabbatini 210 to 1
Seung Yul Noh 210 to 1
Dicky Pride 220 to 1
Michael Thompson 220 to 1
Davis Love III 230 to 1
Anthony Kim 235 to 1
Brandt Jobe 235 to 1
Charley Hoffman 235 to 1
Charlie Wi 235 to 1
DJ Trahan 235 to 1
Tom Gillis 235 to 1
Camilo Villegas 250 to 1
Rod Pampling 250 to 1
Justin Leonard 270 to 1
Chad Campbell 275 to 1
Jerry Kelly 280 to 1
Matt Every 285 to 1
Brendan Steele 300 to 1
Anders Romero 315 to 1
Jhonattan Vegas 315 to 1
Jason Kokrak 335 to 1
Josh Teater 335 to 1
Kevin Chappell 335 to 1
William McGirt 335 to 1
Boo Weekley 350 to 1
Brendon Todd 380 to 1
Brian Davis 380 to 1
Brian Harman 380 to 1
Jeff Maggert 380 to 1
Tim Clark 420 to 1
Scott Stallings 430 to 1
Daniel Summerhays 435 to 1
Erik Compton 435 to 1
Kris Blanks 435 to 1
Tommy Gainey 475 to 1
Gary Christian 525 to 1
Martin Flores 525 to 1
Lee Janzen 585 to 1
Tim Herron 680 to 1
Bobby Gates 685 to 1
Mike Weir 760 to 1
Colt Knost 770 to 1
Daniel Chopra 770 to 1
David Duval 770 to 1
Rocco Mediate 780 to 1
Kyle Reifers 835 to 1
Andrew Magee 1,000 to 1
Billy Hurley III 1,000 to 1
David Damesworth 1,000 to 1
Kelly Kraft 1,000 to 1
Robert Damron 1,000 to 1
Robert Gamez 1,000 to 1
Sam Saunders 1,000 to 1
Scott McCarron 1,000 to 1
Skip Kendall 1,000 to 1

A few months back, we broke down Tiger Woods’ expected return to golf and perhaps how long it would take the biggest icon in sports to shock the world again after making his return from being out of golf for 8 months due to reconstructive knee surgery. Well those questions were answered this Sunday, when Tiger pulled off yet another jaw dropping spectacle at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. If you were not aware of Tiger’s accomplishments through his career, you might find the 5 stroke comeback on Sunday’s final round a bit impressive. However, like most that have followed the lucrative career from Tiger we have come to expect these type of things that amaze us time and time again. Woods shot a final round 3 under 67 and drained a 15 foot birdie on the 18th hole to capture the Arnold Palmer Invitational late Sunday. The victory tied for the biggest final round comeback in Woods’ career in the tournament that was the final tune-up for the first major of the season that will be The Masters in two weeks from Augusta, Georgia.

There were a few people just starting to question if Tiger may be really ready to compete at the first major on the schedule for 2009. After some sluggish putting and questionable few Tournaments back from knee surgery, Woods still appeared a bit rusty from the time off. However, Sunday’s win will have most people back on the Woods ban wagon just in time for The Masters. If you thought about jumping out quick to throw a bet on Tiger winning his 15th career major tournament, then don’t expect to find jackpot type profiting odds. Before Tiger even made the miraculous comeback on Sunday, the superstar was already a 2/1 favorite to win at Augusta in mid April. The closest other competitor in terms of betting odds is Phil Mickelson who stands at a 6/1 favorite to win The Masters.

Taking a look at this year’s field we will take a brief preview of the odds to win the Masters and who to take in consideration. Tiger will of course be the favorite at 2/1 odds, but it is almost a losing type bet. The odds to only double your money by predicting a winner in a golf tournament are extremely low, but Woods has won 4 green jackets and he is the guy to beat every year. However if you might want to take a more profitable approach to your bet there are a few others to strongly consider. Phil Mickelson has played well through the beginning of 2009 and has won twice at Augusta as well. Mickelson receiving reasonable odds at 6/1 and will definitely be worth the consideration. Zach Johnson has one win on tour this season and finished 3rd at the Arnold Palmer Invitation. Johnson is also a winner of the 2007 Masters and stands at an eye opening 33/1 odds for the win in April. Johnson style of play is definitely one to consider when the tour rolls into Augusta. Retief Goosen has also played well early in 2009. Goosen is a two time major champion who always plays solid at Augusta and is currently a 25/1 favorite to win. Despite the many players that look like they could be promising picks to take down the first championship of the season, likely Tiger will be the guy to beat. Outside of the 4 green jackets, Tiger has finished runner-up the last two years as well. Unfortunately for Woods, anything but a win would be disappointing considering how often he has shocked the sports world through his most recent performances.

Here are the current 2009 Masters odds from BetUS Sportsbook (Get a 100% signup bonus up to $500 by clicking here):