1971 – That winning feeling

The moment Arnold Palmer won the Florida Citrus Invitational at Rio Pinar. The precursor to the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Rio Pinar had long been one of Palmer’s favorite tour stops.

1979 – New home

Palmer brought the tournament to his Bay Hill Club in 1979. The Bay Hill Citrus Classic has been through a few name changes since then but home has remained Bay Hill. (Program cover, below, courtesy of Alastair Johnston.)

1990 – Holed it

On the last hole in the final round in 1990, Robert Gamez holed his second shot—a seven-iron from the middle of the fairway—for an eagle to defeat a disbelieving Greg Norman and Larry Mize. A plaque now marks the spot from where Gamez played the shot of his life.

2007 – Sign here

A fan admires the fruits of his autograph hunting at the 2007 Arnold Palmer Invitational. This is an event at which the host would regularly remind his fellow pros of the importance of making time for their fans.

1998 – Playing with knives

Palmer shows Ernie Els how to weald the Trophy Sword after the South African won in 1998. The sword was replaced with a sterling silver trophy in 2007 (probably safer…).

2000 – Thrice the bridesmaid

How Davis Love III would have loved to win his mentor’s tournament, but it has so far eluded him. He’s been close though; runner-up three times, in 1989 (losing a playoff to Tom Kite), 1993 (two behind Ben Crenshaw and tied with Rocco Mediate and Vijay Singh) and in 2000 (pictured here, four behind Woods).

Set of 8

Tiger Woods has won the Arnold Palmer Invitational eight times. Eight wins in the same event is a PGA Tour record Woods shares with Sam Snead (eight wins in the Greater Greensboro Open, 1938-1965) and, er, himself (Woods has eight wins in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational).

Leader of the pack

Palmer soaks in the atmosphere at the 2007 tournament.

2016 – Taking the title Down Under

Jason Day won in 2016 after saying how “I normally struggle in Florida”. After the tournament Palmer told Kingdom: “Jason’s wire-to-wire victory was quite impressive, and I’m sure you can expect more great performances from him coming up”. He was right.

2018 – Rory back on top

Rory McIlroy won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in 2018, to claim his first PGA Tour title in 18 months.

2021 – Taking on the 6th Hole

“Tiger told me to keep fighting and to play boldly like Mr. Palmer would”
Bryson DeChambeau hits his tee shot 370 yards and lands his ball just 70 yards from the cup, leading to a birdie at the par-5 6th hole.