World No. 2 McIlroy commits to next month's Arnold Palmer Invitational

The King received big news Tuesday from the most-accomplished member of golf's new Big Three, world No. 2 Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy announced he would tee it up at next month's Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. The four-time major champion played Palmer's tournament for the first time in 2015, tying for 11th place.

The question now is whether world No. 1 Jordan Spieth and 2015 Masters champion will play Bay Hill for the first time. The 22-year-old will defend his title a week earlier at Tampa's Valspar Championship, a week after playing the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship at Doral.

The World Match Play has been moved the week after Bay Hill and could force Spieth to make a tough scheduling choice. Palmer does not hide the fact he wants the world's top players at his event, but four straight events would be a heavy workload for Spieth.

World No. 3 Jason Day played Bay Hill in 2015, but since 2010 has played it three times and skipped it three times.

Spieth, the 26-year-old McIroy and Day, 28, comprise the Big Three in today's game, a nod to the Palmer-Jack Nicklaus-Gary Player triumvirate that dominated golf in the 1960s and into the 1970s.

McIlroy was not the only big name to commit to Bay Hill on Tuesday. He was joined by major winners Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Graeme McDowell and Davis Love III, the 2016 Ryder Cup captain.

Weekly badges for full tournament access start at $110 and daily adult tickets start at $50. Daily youth tickets start at $15. Practice and pro-am badges start at $45.

General parking costs $10, while a pass to park on-site for the week costs $75.

To purchase tickets, visit arnoldpalmerinvitational.com or call 407-876-7774. Fans can also go to Central Florida Publix supermarkets to purchase daily tickets, weekly badges and youth tickets. For each ticket purchased at Publix, $2 is donated to the NICU at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies.

This article was written by Edgar Thompson from The Orlando Sentinel and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.