ORLANDO, Fla. - Officials of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard announced Tuesday that four major champions are among 18 players who received exemptions into the prestigious invitational tournament scheduled for March 16-22 at Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club & Lodge.
Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink, Ben Curtis and Trevor Immelman garnered four of the eight exemptions that go to PGA TOUR Regular or Past Champion members. Glover won the 2009 U.S. Open and Cink the 2009 Open Championship. Fellow American Curtis won the 2003 Open Championship. Immelman, a native of South Africa, captured the 2008 Masters.
Chad Campbell, Billy Hurley, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Rod Pampling also were selected in the PGA TOUR Regular or Past Champion category. Campbell and Pampling are previous winners at Bay Hill, winning in 2004 and '06, respectively.
Unrestricted Exemptions went to another eight players, most of them foreign-born as part of the long-standing tradition of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard to include international players in the 120-player field. Those players are: Alexander Levy of France, former Ryder Cup player Francesco Molinari of Italy, Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand and former Presidents Cup player Ryo Ishikawa of Japan.
The other exemptions went to Orlando-area residents D.A. Points and Brian Davis, rookie Brandon Hagy, and to M.J. Maguire, the Southern Amateur champion.
The final two exemptions went to PGA TOUR rookies Sam Saunders and Blayne Barber from the list of 2014 Top Finishers on the Web.com Tour. Saunders, grandson of Arnold Palmer, will make his fifth appearance. His best finish was T-30 in 2011. He fell in a five-man playoff last week at the Puerto Rico Open.
For tickets to the 2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard, go to www.arnoldpalmerinvitational.com, visit participating Central Florida Publix stores or call the tournament ticket office at 407-876-7774. Tournament proceeds benefit Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies.