The 2011 Arnold Palmer Invitational begins Thursday at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida. Tiger Woods is the favorite to win and end his losing streak. The World No. 5 hasn’t won a golf tournament since November of 2009 and faces a tough field with the top 70 invites from last season’s money list in this PGA Tour event.

Despite his current struggles, the odds are justified for the six-time Arnold Palmer champion. He was the fourth player in history to win the event four times in a row, which came in a streak from 2000-2003. He also won at Bay Hill in 2008 and 2009, but missed the tournament last year due to his off-the-course issues. He started 2011 poorly but had his best finish on the year in his last time out. He tied for 10th at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. He will be looking for a good finish this week to get back on track for April’s U.S. Masters.

Dustin Johnson is second in the odds after finishing runner-up at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. He has three top 10 finishes in seven tournament this year, but came in 40th at Bay Hill last year. Third in the odds is Graeme McDowell. The World No. 4 plays well on the sand and is the highest ranked player competing this week. He has three top 10 finishes in four U.S. starts. He missed the cut here last year and finished 40th in 2009.

Phil Mickelson has been inconsistent but he has good value this week. His last tournament win was the 2010 U.S. Masters, but he won the 1997 Arnold Palmer Invitational. He has slipped to sixth in the world rankings after failing to finish in the top 10 in four of five events in 2011.

Beyond that, Justin Rose has some value after tying for fifth at the Transitions Championship. Tread lightly with Rose though as he was the leader at Transitions but struggled in his last round. He missed the cut at Bay Hill last year. Ernie Els is the defending Arnold Palmer champion. He is a great bet to place after an impressive final round at the WGC-Cadillac tied him for 15th.

Arnold Palmer Invitational Outright Odds (provided by Eurobet)

Tiger Woods: 8/1

Dustin Johnson: 16/1

Graeme McDowell: 18/1

Hunter Mahan: 20/1

Phil Mickelson: 22/1

Justin Rose: 28/1

Bubba Watson: 33/1

Charl Schwartzel: 40/1

Ernie Els: 40/1

Jim Furyk: 40/1

Martin Laird: 40/1

Vijay Singh: 40/1

Bill Haas: 50/1

Brandt Snedeker: 50/1

Chris Couch: 50/1

Edoardo Molinari: 50/1

Gary Woodland: 50/1

Ian Poulter: 50/1

J.B. Holmes: 50/1

Matteo Manassero: 50/1

Robert Allenby: 50/1

Sergio Garcia: 50/1

Stewart Cink: 50/1

Zach Johnson: 50/1