Arnold Palmer Invitational 2-Ball Bets: Take Ludvig Åberg as Round 1 Underdog

Our expert likes the young Swede at plus-money in the first round against the defending champ at Bay Hill.

Ludvig Åberg is an underdog to Scottie Scheffler in the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. / Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

If you want to bet on the PGA Tour, you don’t always have to wait until the tournament is over on Sunday to find out if you’ve won your bet or not.

Some of my favorite types of wagers to place on golf are 3-ball and 2-ball bets. These are only one specific round, so you don’t have to wait all four days to find out the result. It’s simply a matchup bet on a golfer to finish with the best round score of the threesome or twosome he’s playing in.

With this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational being a limited-field event, golfers are being sent off in twosomes meaning the bets we’re looking at are “2-balls.” I have three of those bets locked in for the opening round.

Arnold Palmer Invitational Round 1 2-Ball Bets

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

• Robert MacIntyre -115 vs. Matt Fitzpatrick
• Ludvig Åberg +170 vs. Scottie Scheffler
• Aaron Rai +105 vs. Sungjae Im

Robert MacIntyre -115 vs. Matt Fitzpatrick

This bet is simply my attempt at fading Matt Fitzpatrick. The Englishman has had a strong history at Bay Hill, but his recent form makes him untouchable from a betting perspective. He hasn’t finished inside the top 20 at an event since the FedEx St. Jude Championship last August and none of his metrics have been promising yet in 2025.

Meanwhile, Robert MacIntyre has been a bit hot and cold this season, finishing T6 at the WM Phoenix Open but missing the cut at the Genesis Invitational, but his strong driving should give him an advantage at a course like Bay Hill.

Ludvig Åberg +170 vs. Scottie Scheffler

When you narrow a golf bet down to a single round, you increase the amount of volatility. Sure, Scottie Scheffler deserves to be a significant favorite against Ludvig Åberg for a four-round tournament, but if we’re looking at a single round, Åberg absolutely has the game to beat the defending Arnold Palmer Invitational champion.

Åberg has finished in the top 25 both times he’s teed it up at the API and it makes sense when you consider how important driving is at this course. The Swede is also coming into this event off a win at the most recent signature event. If you're going to give me +170 odds on him to beat Scheffler in the opening round, I’m going to take that bet 10 times out of 10.

Aaron Rai +105 vs. Sungjae Im

Sungjae Im has been spiraling in 2025. He has missed the cut in two straight starts and his approach stats have been horrific, which is surprising considering his iron play historically was the best part of his game.

Meanwhile, Aaron Rai is coming off a T4 performance at the Mexico Open and with hitting greens in regulation being important at the difficult Bay Hill, Rai should be set up for a solid week. He ranks 30th on Tour in greens in regulation (72.84%) this season, far above Sungjae Im at 148th (65.7%).

I’m a bit surprised Rai is the underdog in this matchup.

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You can check out all of Iain's bets here!