ORLANDO, Fla. — So much for the notion the Arnold Palmer Invitational wouldn’t be as attractive when its namesake was no longer around.

Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Adam Scott and a host of other top players at Bay Hill this week give the tournament its strongest field since Palmer died in September 2016.

The condition of the course is good as ever. Florida in March has warmth in the air and the increasing buzz that the Masters is right around the corner.

And it’s still Arnie’s place.

“The legacy of my grandfather, it just doesn’t go away,” Sam Saunders said Wednesday. “And he’s not here to shake hands with the players and see them, but the impact ... they feel it. They know how important this event is.”

Tiger Woods chose not to play as he picks his tournaments more sparingly because of a fused lower spine. He has played Bay Hill just once — a tie for fifth in 2018 — since winning for the eighth time in 2013.

Even so, the Arnold Palmer Invitational is more than holding its own against a schedule that features two World Golf Championships and The Players Championship in the weeks leading to Augusta National.

“It’s very, very hard to pick and choose right now because this is such a strong part of the year,” Graeme McDowell said.

McDowell regrets going to a World Golf Championship in Mexico City, mainly because he didn’t get much out of the high altitude with his low ball flight.

There was a time when players never would have considered skipping a World Golf Championship with its big purse ($10.5 million) and small field with no cut. Now it’s getting harder to distinguish.

Bay Hill has a $9.3 million purse, a 120-man field (with a cut) and strong world ranking points. Ditto for the Genesis Invitational at Riviera last month, which has the same elevated status with a big purse, smaller field and ranking points that are among the highest for regular tour events.

The other tournament in that elevated category, the Memorial, has been among the strongest for years.

It’s a question whether they have become stronger with the added perks, or if the World Golf Championships are not revered as much as they were when they began in 1999. It could be a little of both.

Scott said so much has changed in 20 years. The tour now has 10 tournaments outside the U.S. — the U.K., Canada, Japan, China, South Korea, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and two in Mexico. When the World Golf Championships began, the only events outside the U.S. on the PGA Tour schedule were two in Canada, the British Open and Spain.

“It was much harder to get the world’s top players together,” Scott said.