Written by Rob Bolton

When a professional golfer says that he’s striking it well, believe him. But if you’d rather chalk it up as typical rhetoric reflective of the bravado of an athlete at the highest level of his sport, take a look at the scoreboard. When those two factors align for victory, it’s not magic. It’s a matter of fact.

At the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches last week, Russell Henley stated that he was where he wanted to be with his long game and on approach. On cue, he finished in a tie for sixth at PGA National Resort. Of course, it was but his third-best finish on the challenging track where he prevailed in 2014 and placed T3 in 2021, so it couldn’t be ruled out that he’s merely a horse for a course, which he is.

Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge boasts more victims than slayers, and Henley isn’t immune. In his first eight appearances in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, he could be found in both categories, but mostly in the former as six trips resulted in results outside the top 40, three of which missed cuts. The exceptions were a T13 in 2022 and a T4 last year.

Add another. Henley emerged with the victory in the fourth Signature Event of the season by one stroke over Collin Morikawa on Sunday.

Henley ranked third in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and SG: Around-the-Green en route to his fifth PGA TOUR victory. He was a tasty +4400 to prevail pre-tournament at FanDuel, especially coming off the swagger at the Cognizant Classic.

Russell Henley interview after winning Arnold Palmer Invitational

With 700 FedExCup points added, Henley jumps 15 spots to second in the standings. He also banks $4 million. He was already exempt into all Signature Events, THE PLAYERS Championship and the Masters, and he was a lock to gain entry into the PGA Championship via his Official World Golf Ranking (12th), if necessary, but that spot is now official via the victory. (He’ll climb into the top 10 of the OWGR in its next update.) He’s also locked up his return to The Sentry in 2026 and his PGA TOUR membership exemption also is extended through his age (38), which is the 2027 season.

Morikawa (+2200) settles for his second silver of 2025 (The Sentry) and eighth top five since he regained familiar form with a T3 at the Masters 11 months ago.

Corey Conners was another shot back and alone in third, his second such finish since launching a 5-for-5 slate at Bay Hill with the same in 2021. The Canadian was +7000 to win this time.

In his first title defense of 2025, Scottie Scheffler was the tournament favorite as usual at just +320, but he failed to sign for a sub-70 at Bay Hill and came to rest in a four-way tie for 11th.

Rory McIlroy was second-shortest at +750, but the 2018 champ checked up at T15.

Xander Schauffele returned from his extended break to recover from an acute intercostal strain and finished T40. He made the cut on the number to extend his PGA TOUR-leading streak to 58, and he closed with a 3-under 69 for his best round of the tournament.

Red-hot Michael Kim struggled in the conditions of the opening round for a 75, but he rallied for a solo fourth to give his investors in at +7000 reason to get excited with the finish line in view.

Amateur Jackson Koivun (+20000) finished T48 of the 51 who cashed and added a point to his total in PGA TOUR University Accelerated. Although now just one short of earning his PGA TOUR card through the program, Koivun stated during the tournament that plans on remaining at Auburn University through at least the 2026 season. He’s currently a sophomore.

NOTE: Points and Payouts cites pre-tournament odds to win at FanDuel for all golfers who made the cut. For live odds, visit FanDuel.

POSITIONGOLFER (ODDS TO WIN)SCOREFEDEXCUP POINTSEARNINGS1Russell Henley (+4400)277 / -11700.000$4,000,000.002Collin Morikawa (+2200)278 / -10400.000$2,200,000.003Corey Conners (+7000)279 / -9350.000$1,400,000.004Michael Kim (+7000)280 / -8325.000$1,000,000.00T5Keegan Bradley (+5500)281 / -7287.500$800,000.00T5Sepp Straka (+6000)281 / -7287.500$800,000.007Shane Lowry (+5000)282 / -6225.000$700,000.00T8Byeong Hun An (+12000)283 / -5175.000$600,666.67T8Justin Rose (+30000)283 / -5175.000$600,666.67T8Jason Day (+8000)283 / -5175.000$600,666.67T11Tommy Fleetwood (+3000)284 / -4115.000$451,250.00T11Scottie Scheffler (+320)284 / -4115.000$451,250.00T11Robert MacIntyre (+5500)284 / -4115.000$451,250.00T11Aaron Rai (+8000)284 / -4115.000$451,250.00T15Jacob Bridgeman (+15000)285 / -380.000$349,000.00T15Daniel Berger (+6000)285 / -380.000$349,000.00T15Rory McIlroy (+750)285 / -380.000$349,000.0018Denny McCarthy (+9000)286 / -265.000$309,000.00T19Sungjae Im (+4500)287 / -155.000$269,333.33T19Si Woo Kim (+8000)287 / -155.000$269,333.33T19Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+17000)287 / -155.000$269,333.33T22Ludvig Åberg (+1600)288 / E40.056$178,111.11T22Hideki Matsuyama (+2500)288 / E40.056$178,111.11T22Will Zalatoris (+5000)288 / E40.056$178,111.11T22Chris Kirk (+22000)288 / E40.056$178,111.11T22Patrick Rodgers (+10000)288 / E40.056$178,111.11T22Max Greyserman (+11000)288 / E40.056$178,111.11T22Matt Fitzpatrick (+6000)288 / E40.056$178,111.11T22Mackenzie Hughes (+35000)288 / E40.056$178,111.11T22Wyndham Clark (+6000)288 / E40.056$178,111.11T31Patrick Cantlay (+3000)289 / 129.500$126,000.00T31J.J. Spaun (+8000)289 / 129.500$126,000.00T31Nick Taylor (+11000)289 / 129.500$126,000.00T34Austin Eckroat (+14000)290 / 225.750$111,500.00T34Andrew Novak (+20000)290 / 225.750$111,500.00T36Lucas Glover (+15000)291 / 322.500$96,750.00T36Adam Scott (+8000)291 / 322.500$96,750.00T36Justin Thomas (+2500)291 / 322.500$96,750.00T36Tony Finau (+6000)291 / 322.500$96,750.00T40Xander Schauffele (+1800)292 / 418.750$78,000.00T40Samuel Stevens (+12000)292 / 418.750$78,000.00T40Max McGreevy (+20000)292 / 418.750$78,000.00T40Brian Harman (+12000)292 / 418.750$78,000.00T40Tom Hoge (+50000)292 / 418.750$78,000.00T45Adam Hadwin (+30000)293 / 515.750$62,000.00T45Isaiah Salinda (+12000)293 / 515.750$62,000.00T45Ben Griffin (+7500)293 / 515.750$62,000.00T48Sam Burns (+5500)294 / 613.875$56,000.00T48Jackson Koivun – a (+20000)294 / 6n/a (non-member)n/a (amateur)T50J.T. Poston (+11000)295 / 712.750$53,000.00T50Eric Cole (+35000)295 / 712.750$53,000.00T45Danny Willett (+12000)277 / -115.600$11,542.22T45Matteo Manassero (+6000)277 / -115.600$11,542.22T54Thriston Lawrence (+6000)278 / -103.646$9,416.00T54Cristobal Del Solar (+25000)278 / -103.646$9,416.00T54Trevor Cone (+20000)278 / -103.646$9,416.00T54Patrick Fishburn (+3500)278 / -103.646$9,416.00T54Vince Covello (+100000)278 / -103.646$9,416.00T59Thomas Rosenmueller (+12000)279 / -92.987$9,000.00T59Antoine Rozner (+4500)279 / -92.987$9,000.00T59Carl Yuan (+25000)279 / -92.987$9,000.00T59Hayden Buckley (+22000)279 / -92.987$9,000.00T59Angel Ayora (+5500)279 / -9n/a (non-member)$9,000.00T64Ricky Castillo (+6500)280 / -82.427$8,640.00T64Danny Walker (+7500)280 / -82.427$8,640.00T64Nick Hardy (+7500)280 / -82.427$8,640.00T64Rikuya Hoshino (+7500)280 / -82.427$8,640.00T68Kevin Tway (+10000)281 / -72.054$8,400.00T68Martin Laird (+10000)281 / -72.054$8,400.00T70Max Kennedy (+100000)282 / -6n/a (non-member)$8,240.00T70Ben Polland (+100000)282 / -6n/a (non-member)$8,240.00T72Lanto Griffin (+4500)283 / -51.680$8,040.00T72Chez Reavie (+20000)283 / -51.680$8,040.00T72Trace Crowe (+15000)283 / -51.680$8,040.00T75Jason Dufner (+40000)284 / -41.493$7,800.00T75Ben Warian (+75000)284 / -4n/a (non-member)$7,800.00T75Tommy Gainey (+75000)284 / -41.493$7,800.0078David Lipsky (+17000)288 / E1.369$7,640.00

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