Arnie’s tournament, two weeks later than usual.
The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard is played at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando from 15 to 21 March 2027. The four rounds run from Thursday 18 to Sunday 21 March, after a pro-am on Monday, practice on Tuesday and the official pro-am on Wednesday. The tournament has moved two weeks later than its recent early-March slot, which puts it straight after THE PLAYERS at TPC Sawgrass. It remains a PGA TOUR Signature Event, with a 72-player field and a purse raised to $20 million. Akshay Bhatia defends the title he won in a play-off against Daniel Berger in 2026. Bay Hill sits in suburban south-west Orlando, so beds and flights are easy; the course is the hard part to play.
Tickets are sold through arnoldpalmerinvitational.com, with Ticketmaster handling delivery and verified resale. General sale opened on 17 September 2026, a week after a presale for Mastercard holders, who still save 10% when they pay with the card. Grounds tickets are good for one day from Tuesday to Sunday. At launch they started at $40 for the practice days, $85 for Thursday and $99 for Friday to Sunday, before fees. Under-15s get in free with a ticketed adult and need no ticket. Active, retired, reserve and National Guard service members can claim complimentary tickets, veterans and first responders discounted ones, all verified through GovX. The themed days, such as Wine & Dine on 9 on Friday and Birdies & BBQ on Saturday, each include that day’s grounds admission.
For hospitality, the tournament sells its own tiers. The Orange Grove is the only one inside the Bay Hill clubhouse, with all-inclusive food and drink and private seating beside the 9th green; it costs $2,100 for any two days or $3,500 for Thursday to Sunday. The Lakehouse sits between the 16th green and the 17th tee, and the Michelob ULTRA Fan Deck, from $150 a day, overlooks the 16th. Golfbreaks sells a Weekend Package from $699 per person: three nights room only at the Meliá Orlando Celebration, near Disney, with general admission for Saturday and Sunday. Extra nights, more ticket days, hospitality, golf and car hire can be added. Its sample itinerary still showed the old early-March dates when we checked, so confirm your nights match the new week.
3 nights room only, Saturday & Sunday general admission tickets
Stay: Meliá Orlando Celebration, near Disney World
The two weekend rounds at Bay Hill with three nights near Disney in one booking; extra nights, more ticket days, hospitality, golf and car hire can be added.
Prices are Golfbreaks’ published per-person guide prices in US dollars, checked November 2026; your quote depends on dates and group size. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How we work
Bay Hill Club & Lodge is the venue as well as a hotel, with lodge rooms, suites and lakeside cottages. Expect it to be tied up with players and the event, and ask early if you want a room there. The practical base is the cluster of hotels around Universal Orlando, Dr Phillips and International Drive, a few minutes from the course and close to the tournament’s shuttle car park. Celebration and Kissimmee, south of the Disney parks, have resort hotels at lower March prices but add a longer drive each morning. If you are combining the week with THE PLAYERS, it is worth splitting the stay: Ponte Vedra or Jacksonville first, then Orlando.
Orlando International (MCO) is about 30 minutes east of Bay Hill by road, mostly on State Road 528, with direct flights from the UK, Europe and most US hubs. From Thursday to Sunday, general parking is at Universal Orlando, 6300 Universal Boulevard; you pay Universal at the gate and a shuttle takes you to the course. Premium on-site parking is sold by the day on the ticket site, and Lot 10 on site is free on Tuesday and Wednesday. Gates open at 7.30 am on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and at 7 am for Wednesday’s pro-am; weekend times are still to be announced.
Bay Hill itself is the obvious round and the hardest that week. The course is open only to members and lodge guests, with one 18-hole round on the Challenger and Champion nines for each night you stay, and guest play is limited around the tournament. Book a stay the week before or after instead. Streamsong, about 90 minutes south, takes day guests online up to 30 days ahead; its spring 2027 day rate is US$445, plus a US$35 cart. Cabot Citrus Farms, about 90 minutes from Orlando airport, lets day guests book six months out; carts are available only after noon from 9 March, and a caddie is required before 10 am until the end of March. TPC Sawgrass, two and a half hours north, will be just past its own tournament week.
Most visitors flying in from the UK or Europe add golf before or after the tournament, and clubs are dead weight on the days you spend walking the ropes. Bay Hill’s lodge uses Ship Sticks for club delivery, so if you are staying there for golf, send them straight to the lodge and travel light on spectator days.
Quote to ship your clubs with Luggage Forward
Sponsored link. Shipping versus flying with clubs
Tournament week runs from Monday 15 to Sunday 21 March 2027 at Bay Hill in Orlando. The four rounds are Thursday 18 to Sunday 21 March. That is two weeks later than recent editions and the week after THE PLAYERS.
At the September 2026 launch, one-day grounds tickets started at $40 for Tuesday or Wednesday, $85 for Thursday and $99 for Friday to Sunday, before fees. Children 15 and under go free with a ticketed adult. Mastercard holders save 10%.
General parking from Thursday to Sunday is at Universal Orlando, paid at the gate, with a shuttle to Bay Hill. Premium on-site parking is sold by the day, and Lot 10 is free on the practice days.
The tournament’s top hospitality tier, and the only one with access to the Bay Hill clubhouse. It includes all-inclusive food and bar, greenside seats on the 9th and premium parking. Two days cost $2,100 and all four tournament days $3,500.
Yes, in 2027. THE PLAYERS finishes at TPC Sawgrass on 14 March and the Invitational begins at Bay Hill on 15 March. The drive from Ponte Vedra to Orlando is about two and a half hours.
Last checked 10 November 2026. Event dates and ticket routes come from the organiser where published, or the named source. Course rules and fees come from our linked guides. This is an independent planning guide, not a ticket seller.
How we research our guidesArnold Palmer’s own club, where a night in the lodge gets you on the course.
Dunes nobody expects in Florida, built on reclaimed phosphate land.
Rolling sand and live oaks on Florida’s Nature Coast, rebuilt by Cabot.
Destination imageryHome of The Players, and a 17th green that sits alone in the water.
