Round 1, Arnold Palmer Invitational

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Apr. 1, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

The first groups are ready to tee off in today's first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. Here's how it sets up:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
8:36 am ET No. 10		Kenny Perry, Stewart Cink, Adam Scott Kenny Perry has been hot all season long and he's teeing it up at a place where he's had success in the past. Track 'em
12:55 pm ET No. 1		Mark Wilson, Padraig Harrington, Tiger Woods No one has had more success at Bay Hill than Tiger, who makes his third start of the 2009 season. Track 'em
1:06 pm ET No. 10		Zach Johnson, Mike Weir, Jim Furyk Johnson is already a winner in 2009, Weir has come close twice and Furyk is trying to find some consistency. Track 'em

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR Network on-site correspondent Mark Carnevale previews Thursday's first round:

I have to believe it is going to be an interesting and exciting week here at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. The PGA TOUR players all come here to play and honor "The King," and rightly so. I know as a PGA TOUR member that we all owe a great deal to Arnie for setting the standard of how PGA TOUR players need to act both inside and outside of the ropes. It is a debt that we all will never be able to pay back, but must make the effort to insure the standard continues. I personally continued to pursue my career in professional golf due to an interview I saw of Arnold some 25 years ago. So once again, thank you Mr. Palmer.

Thursday's forecast

Partly Cloudy
Temp: 84 high/64 low
It will be partly cloudy, with winds coming out of the south, southeast at 18 mph.

Tiger has had another week to work out some kinks, and continue to get his game dialed in. He played very well a week ago at the Tavistock Cup, so look for him to perform up to his standards this week. Do not be surprised at all if he repeats for his first win in 2009 and gets more confidence going into the Masters... like he really needs it. Oh, and by the way, he gets to sleep in his own bed, see his kids everyday. He's also won here five times. Yeah, I like his chances!

The players are raving about the condition of the golf course. Last year, there were some issues with the greens that affected putting. No excuses this year. The greens were heavily overseeded so that there is no sign of the Bermuda grass which occupies the greens for most of the year. In fact after this year's event, the greens will be torn up.

As far as the rest of the course, the fairways are running fast, and the rough has been lowered slightly from last year due to the firmness of the fairways as many shots will run out into the rough. I think we will see some good scoring this week, and do not be surprised to see the champion win by a big margin.

Stat of the day

Defending champion Tiger Woods makes his third start of the 2009 this season at a venue where he has won an astounding five times in the past. He's looking for his first win since the 2008 U.S. Open.

FEDEXCUP NOTES: ROUND 1
• By Week 12 of the season last year, six of the players that would enter the playoffs ranked in the top-10 in the FedExCup standings were already in the top 10. That may not be the case this year, as several of the top players have yet to find their form in 2009.

Singh

• The first two FedExCup champions, Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh, are both returning from knee injuries and have not played in many events through the early part of this season. Even when they have teed it up they have not performed up to their lofty standards and both players enter this week outside of the top 100.

• Woods and Singh will probably find their winning ways again soon, but there are a number of other top players that face a similar predicament. In the field this week are Anthony Kim, Jim Furyk, Padraig Harrington, and Adam Scott all of which find themselves outside of the top-10 and with Phil Mickelson and Geoff Ogilvy both posting multiple victories, the number of available spots is getting smaller each week.

• The last two champions of this week's event are the first two winners of the FedExCup -- Tiger Woods (Arnold Palmer Invitational 2008, FedExCup 2007) and Vijay Singh (Arnold Palmer Invitational 2007, FedExCup 2008).

• Currently third in the standings, Nick Watney is the highest point earner in this week's field.

• Not including the points earned with his win at the Buick Invitational, Watney is still averaging 88 points per start.

• Watney enters this week ranked in the top-10 in scoring average, driving distance and scrambling.

-- Mike Vitti, PGA TOUR Staff

The Film Room

	Opening Shot Marc Fein and Brian Katrek discuss the part of Retief Goosen's game that won him the Transitions Championship, and whether any player has a good chance of beating Tiger. Watch it
	Woods gaining confidence Tiger Woods spoke about getting his feel back for the game of golf following his eight month absence at a press conference. Watch it
	Palmer on his game Arnold Palmer discussed the current status of his golfing abilities at the 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. Watch it