Arnold Palmer Invitational: Third Round Matchup Bets, Odds 3/9/24

Top Five Golfers in Scoring Average

Now that we have determined who the current top five golfers in overall scoring average are on the PGA Tour (in this week's field) let's shift our attention to my favorite third round matchup bets for the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Corey Conners -120 over Sungjae Im

Corey Conners has accumulated two top 28 finishes in his last three events played on the PGA Tour, including a 24th place result at the 2024 Genesis Invitational last month.

Conners also checks the box for me when it comes to previous event/course history. Conners finished third at the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational. 

In direct contrast to Conners, Sungjae Im has not been playing good golf lately. Let me be more specific. Since the beginning of February, Sungjae Im has played five tournaments on the PGA Tour. In those five events just mentioned, Im has accumulated four finishes of 66th or worse. Clearly, the data tells me that Corey Conners is the golfer to select in this matchup wager.     

Shane Lowry +100 over Hideki Matsuyama

Last week, Shane Lowry fired a third round 66 at the 2024 Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches en route to an eventual fourth place finish.

Due to Shane Lowry's strong finish at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches, I decided to take a close look at the relevant player statistics to see how Lowry fared relative to the field. 

Upon the completion of four rounds of competitive play at the 2024 Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches, relative to the field, Shane Lowry ranked second in strokes gained approach, eighth in birdie or better percentage, and seventh in strokes gained on par fours.

In summary, I am backing Shane Lowry to defeat Hideki Matsuyama in this third round matchup bet at odds of +100.