That’s what this place does.

Every March, the best players in the world arrive at Bay Hill Club & Lodge knowing exactly what awaits them: thick rough, slick greens, swirling winds and a golf course that has a nasty habit of turning triumph into heartbreak in the span of a single swing. It is demanding, dramatic and occasionally cruel, and that’s exactly how Arnie liked it.

And once again on Sunday, Bay Hill delivered a finale worthy of The King himself with Akshay Bhatia pulling off an Arnie-like charge, rallying from five shots down on the back nine and passing leader Daniel Berger to win the tournament’s first sudden-death playoff since 1999.

What a day.

What a finish.

What a tournament.

The final chapter began with Berger holding a one-shot lead over Bhatia when the final round began. Berger had started the week looking like a man on a mission, building a commanding lead over the first two days and flirting with the rare possibility of a wire-to-wire victory at Palmer’s place.

But Bay Hill, as we have learned time and time again, does not make anything easy.

Berger began the day at 13 under par with Bhatia just behind him at 12 under after finishing his third round with consecutive birdies on holes 15 and 16 Saturday evening. What followed over the next several hours was the kind of Sunday that has become synonymous with The Arnie: a final round filled with momentum swings, daring shots and just enough chaos to keep everyone guessing until the final putt dropped on the 18th green.

At one point during the final round, it looked as though Berger might run away with the tournament after Bhatia hit the ball in the water on No. 6 for a bogey and then missed 2 ½ foot putt on No. 9 for another bogey. He trailed Berger by five shots at that point and looked like the wheels were coming off his game. But Bhatia steadied himself and reeled off four straight birdies, then pulled within a stroke with a dramatic eagle on No. 16.

The final holes of the tournament were a showdown. Berger finally lost the lead for the first time since the tournament started when he bogeyed No. 17 to fall into a tie with the charging Bhatia. That’s when you could hear the wave of excitement through the massive galleries surrounding Bay Hill’s closing holes.

The theater built into the final hole of regulation when Bhatia nearly hit his approach shot into the rocks bordering the greenside water hazard, but got a lucky break when the ball stayed on the fringe of the green, allowing him to par. Berger, after hitting his tee shot into the deep rough, then brought the crowd to its feet when he sank a 14-foot putt to send the tournament into sudden-death.

In the end, after Berger bogeyed the first hole of the playoff, it was Bhatia, the slender lefty, who emerged from the chaos with his signature victory. And just like that, another unforgettable Sunday at Bay Hill entered the tournament’s rich history.

If you were standing anywhere around the property Sunday afternoon, the scene looked exactly like what Arnold Palmer always envisioned when he turned Bay Hill into his home all those years ago.

Orlando, quite frankly, hit the jackpot when Palmer decided to settle here.

When Palmer bought Bay Hill in the 1970s, he didn’t just build a golf course or host a tournament. He created an institution. Over the decades, The Arnie has grown into one of the premier stops on the PGA Tour, where the world’s best players circle the date on their calendars.

In fact, there was a time not too long ago when Jordan Spieth was the hottest player in golf when he didn’t even have room for this tournament on his schedule.

Now, Spieth essentially had to beg his way in this year’s Arnie.

That tells you everything you need to know about the stature of this event.

The Arnie is no longer simply another stop on the Tour. It’s one of the most coveted invitations in golf.

But the magic of this tournament extends far beyond the leaderboard. For Orlando, this has become the city’s premier sporting event; the one weekend every year when golf fans pour into Bay Hill to soak up the sunshine, stroll the fairways and watch the world’s best players.

From early morning until sunset, the property buzzes with energy. Grandstands packed with spectators ring the closing holes. Fans line the fairways several rows deep. Every hillside becomes a natural amphitheater.

Meanwhile, the hospitality tents are filled with well-heeled guests sipping top-shelf liquor, sampling gourmet cuisine and enjoying front-row seats to the action. Corporate executives mingle with each other. Tour players’ families stroll through the crowds. Everywhere you look, someone is sipping an ice-cold beer, basking in the sunny honey of a Sunday afternoon in the City Beautiful.

The Arnie is more than just a golf tournament.

It’s a social event.

It’s a spring ritual.

It’s a party.

For one weekend every year, Bay Hill becomes the place to be in Central Florida.

You can almost imagine Arnie himself looking down from somewhere above the 18th green Sunday afternoon, giving his familiar thumbs-up as another fantastic finish unfolded on the course he loved so dearly.

“I know he (Palmer) was up there watching and probably pretty proud of how this tournament unfolded,” Bhatia said. “And it felt like the fans were with me. It felt like I had my own Arnie’s Army out there today. I could feel the energy and the buzz.”

Palmer always believed that golf should be exciting, unpredictable and entertaining.

And year after year, that’s exactly what happens here.

Another Sunday.

Another thriller.

Another champion crowned at Bay Hill.

Just the way The King would have wanted it.

Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on social media @BianchiWrites and listen to my new radio show “Game On” every weekday from 3 to 6 p.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen

Riding the energy of the galleries at Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Bhatia rebounded from a shaky opening nine and capitalized on late-round stumble by 54-hole leader Daniel Berger to prevail Sunday during a sudden-death playoff.

To win, Bhatia overcame swirling emotions to summon the best golf of his young career to apply pressure on Berger, who finally cracked down the stretch and opened the door.

Bhatia eventually parred No. 18 for the second time to win the first API decided by extra holes since 1999 and stun Berger, who missed an 8-foot par putt to extend the tournament.

Sporting the winner’s red cardigan, Bhatia, who finished with a 15-under-par 273 total, suspected Palmer would have enjoyed his clutch play and back-nine resolve.

“Definitely played bold,” Bhatia said. “I think that was a big thing that everyone knows of Mr. Palmer.”

Palmer’s hard-charging style and shotmaking inspired fans. On Sunday, those outside the ropes at Bay Hill were firmly in Bhatia’s corner despite Berger nearly delivering a front-nine knockout behind a two-shot swing at No. 9 to lead by 5 shots at the turn.

The former Florida State Seminole seeking his first win since 2021 withered while facing Bhatia’s birdie barrage and his eagle at the par-5 16th hole. Looking to join Fred Couples (1992) and Jason Day (2016) as the only wire-to-wire winners at Bay Hill, Berger eventually lost the lead on the 71st hole Sunday after being atop the leaderboard since the end of Thursday’s opening round.

“Obviously it didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” the 32-year-old said. “But at the start of the week if you told me I would have a chance on the 18th hole to win Bay Hill, I would be ecstatic with that. It’s tough to win.

“It’s tough to battle.”

Bhatia was determined to fight after he missed a putt inside 3 feet on the par-4 9th.

“That was just a mental mistake that you just can’t make in big tournaments, big golf courses,” he said. “So I went to 10 tee very angry.”

Bhatia opened the back nine with four straight birdies. He followed a bogey five at No. 15 with an eagle at the par-5 16th, which Berger birdied to hold a one-shot advantage.

The tournament turned in Bhatia’s favor on the next hole, the daunting 184-yard par-3 17th over water.

Berger’s 7-iron went off the back of the green. Opting for a putter out of the first cut behind the green, Berger ran the ball past the hole by 8 feet and missed the comeback putt.

Bhatia’s putt inside 20 feet just ran out of steam and burned the right edge of the cup for a par.

Berger’s tee shot on the final hole into the thick rough right of the fairway forced a layup to 70 yards. Next up from 166 yards, Bhatia hit a towering iron that just cleared the water and rocks guarding the green settled into the immediate rough just inside 20 feet.

“I was not trying to go at the flag,” Bhatia said. “But you have so much adrenaline. It was a perfect draw 9-iron, and it just rode the wind too much. But it was like one of the easiest chips I could have had on that hole.”

Berger’s pitch caught the slope and trickled to within makeable range to set up the clutch par from just inside 15 feet. Bhatia’s chip set up a gimme to force a playoff and complete a 5-under 31 over the final nine holes.

After Bhatia split the fairway again in sudden death, Berger found the rough again, this time on the left side. His iron shot found the left side of the green, but sat more than 105 feet from the hole.

Berger left his first putt 8 feet short, and then missed his par attempt. Bhatia stepped in and calmly sank a 3-footer to complete a two-putt from 27 feet to become the first sudden-death winner at Bay Hill since Tim Herron defeated Tom Lehman on the second playoff hole 27 years ago.

No current PGA Tour event had gone longer without a playoff.

After his winning putt, Bhatia celebrated with veteran caddie Joe Greiner. He then embraced his wife, Presleigh, and gave her a kiss at the front of the 18th green near the water hazard her husband nearly had found the first time he played the hole Sunday.

“There’s so much pressure, so much adrenaline, so many nerves and to be able to play through that … that’s kind of what Joe kept reminding me of, he’s like, You can play happy, you can play nervous, you can play upset, angry,” Bhatia said. “It was a lot of fun.”

Bhatia has been among the game’s top young talents for some time. He made his first PGA Tour start in 2019 at the age of 17 during the Valspar Championship in the Tampa area.

Bhatia entered the week with wins at the 2023 Barracuda Championship, an opposite-field event to the Open Championship, and the 2024 Valero Texas Open.

The API title moves Bhatia to another level in the game, while giving him a jolt of confidence. Ranked No. 39 in the world rankings, he’ll move inside the top 25 for the first time in his young career.

“This is another big step for me,” he said. “I never really thought that I could really do this with that amount of pressure. I feel like I’ve shied away from that. Today I dug down, I believed in what I could do and I executed nicely.”

Bhatia needed help from Berger to pick up the win and a $4 million check. By channeling talent and grit, Bhatia proved a deserving winner the galleries at Bay Hill could get behind.

“Everyone knows when you show up to this tournament how hard it is, just very honored to win his event,” he said. “I know he was up there watching and probably pretty proud of how that finish was for this week. It felt like Arnie’s Army for me. So, very blessed.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com.

Berger had defanged beastly Bay Hill Club & Lodge for two days, with every facet of his game razor sharp. The elements were the only thing the 32-year-old couldn’t control during Saturday’s third round.

A mid-afternoon squall moved into the area, bringing hard rain and winds gusting to 20 mph and causing suspended play at 2:53 p.m. When play resumed at 4 p.m., several golfers capitalized on favorable conditions.

Berger trundled along while his competitors closed ground before organizers suspended play at 6:30 p.m. with Berger where he began the day, at 13-under par.

His lead had shrunk to just two shots.

Consecutive birdies at holes 15 and 16 to end his day moved playing partner Akshay Bhatia to 11-under. Berger opted to resume his round at 8 a.m. Sunday with a 33-foot eagle attempt on the par-5 16th, which Bhatia birded with an up-and-down out of the bunker right of the green.

While Berger is certain to add at least a stroke to his score before he and Bhatia head to the par-3 17th, the stage was set for another chaotic, dramatic Sunday at Palmer’s longstanding tournament, where four of the five past winners prevailed by a single shot.

After play was halted, Berger chose not to discuss with reporters what lay ahead.

With Berger at a standstill, Bhatia moved to 10-under when he rolled in a birdie putt from 15 feet from the fringe guarding the back left bunker on No. 15. He entered the day having needed just 45 putts, tied with fewest through 36 holes at Bay Hill since 1983.

On Saturday, he took 22 through 16 holes.

“Fifteen’s a bonus;16’s kind of a must, with Daniel having (33) feet there,” Bhatia said. “Just need to keep doing what I’m doing. It’s fun to be in the hunt.”

Sunday shapes up to be more than a two-man race.

A year after he tied for fifth at Bay Hill, Sepp Straka finished with a 66, the day’s low round, to move into a tie at 9-under with Cam Young and Collin Morikawa, the 2025 runner-up to Russell Henley.

Min Woo Lee is 8-under after a Saturday 68, while two-time 2026 winner Chris Gotterup and Ludvig Åberg are 7-under.

“If you’re playing well, you probably give yourself a chance,” Straka said. “If you’re not, then you won’t.”

Young as much as anyone Saturday capitalized on receptive greens with his length off the tee and pinpoint iron play to record four consecutive birdies and five on his final nine holes.

The 28-year-old seeking his second win on tour called change in conditions, “Substantial.”

Lighter winds and livelier greens allowed putts to hold their pace and lines.

“They went from basically dead to somewhat alive,” world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler said.

After the delay, Scheffler enjoyed a back-nine birdie binge, with a five on eight holes. A a double-bogey 6 on the 18th left him 3-under for the week to effectively ended the world No. 1’s bid for his third API title in five years.

To prevail Sunday, Berger will have to keep his card clean. Two third-round bogeys were twice as many as he made Thursday and Friday.

A multi-shot advantage can disappear quickly at Bay Hill. Morikawa was up 4 with six holes to go when Henley edged him by a shot.

With darkness settling in and play suspended, Morikawa opted to finish his round — and sank a par putt just inside 10 feet on the par-4 18th.

“It’s huge,” he said. “Being able to wake up and sleep in, and just kind of get the day situated. It’s a huge momentum thing for the routine.”

Seeking his first win since the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Berger will seek to regain the momentum he had during the tournament’s opening 36 holes.

If he can, he’ll join Fred Couples (1992) and Jason Day (2016) as the only wire-to-wire winners in the API’s 48-year history.

“Anything can happen,” Young said. “There’s so many good players, any one of them could take a really difficult golf course and make it look easy.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com.

During preparation for his 12:55 p.m. tee time with Ryan Fox, McIlroy warmed up on the practice range before deciding he should withdraw rather than jeopardize his health during the start of a critical stretch of the season.

Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis reported McIlroy tweaked in his lower back at the gym and withdrew as a precautionary measure.

McIlroy is the defending champion of next week’s Players Championship and April’s Masters, where he completed the career grand slam in 2025. The 36-year-old entered Saturday 4-under par after 36 holes and nine shorts behind leader Daniel Berger at Bay Hill Club & Lodge.

The 2018 champion, McIlroy has finished outside the top 25 just once in 11 previous appearances, during his second API start in 2016.

McIlroy’s last WD was for a toothache during the second round at the 2013 Honda Classic. The flu and food poisoning led him to withdraw from the Nedback Golf Challenge in South Africa to end his 2009 season as a 20-year-old on the European Tour.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com.

These days, he channels those instincts away from the PGA Tour’s practice ranges and fairways. Instead, Every finds a spot in the bleachers to watch 13-year-old Liam’s baseball games or 11-year-old Quinn’s softball games.

“I’m very passionate about that. I love watching my kids compete,” Every told the Orlando Sentinel. “I’ve never coached them. Just make sure whatever they need, I’m always, always there.

“But I freaking love watching my kids compete. It’s like the coolest thing ever.’”

Winning back-to-back Arnold Palmer Invitationals in 2014 and 2015 might be next on Every’s list of coolest things.

The 42-year-old’s rollercoaster PGA Tour career bottomed out at the end, but featured two high points at Bay Hill that Every still relishes.

“I don’t want to say I live it every day, but I pinch myself quite a bit throughout the course of a year just thinking, ‘Man, that’s super cool,’ ” he said. “It gets cooler for me the further I get removed from it every year.”

Having grown up in Daytona Beach and starred at Mainland High — where he ended his career with a school‑record 61 — Every went on to become a three-time first-team All-American at Florida and win four times for the Gators.

Given his ties to the region, Every cherished the annual PGA Tour stop in Orlando.

He recalled as a 7-year-old making the drive back to the Surf Coast in the rain with his father after seeing Andrew Magee win a weather-shortened API in 1991. Palmer’s tournament became a fixture on Every’s calendar as early spring arrived.

To win there in 2014 and 2015 was a full-circle moment in his golfing backyard.

“This place is everything to me,” he said. “It defines my career, my two wins here, which is amazing for me. Having my only victories come in Central Florida, down the road from where I grew up, at an elite venue like this, under the umbrella of one of the game’s greats… dude, I’d be really greedy if I wanted more than that.”

Every is one of three golfers to win back-to-back at Bay Hill, along with Loren Roberts (1994-95) and Tiger Woods, an eight-time API champion.

Every’s 2014 victory was unexpected, while coming at the expense of 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott. The highly accomplished Aussie led by seven shots entering the weekend only to squander the largest 36-hole lead in tournament history.

Despite the disappointment of Scott, and perhaps tournament sponsors, Every was a popular winner with the man who most mattered — Arnold Palmer himself.

“There were some bigger names on that leaderboard around me that I’m sure would have looked really nice on that trophy,” Every said. “I’d met him. I’d known him for a little bit through Sam Saunders, his grandson, but I could tell that he knew how much it meant to me growing up around the area.

“Maybe the corporate side wasn’t thrilled about it, but he could see that I was over the moon about what it meant to me.”

In 2015, Every delivered Woods-like drama. He rolled in a 17-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to join Woods and Payne Stewart as the only players to win at Bay Hill with 72nd-hole birdies.

“It was probably the coolest feeling I’ve ever had go through my body during my playing career,” he said. “An out-of-body experience, just like uncontrollable shaking afterward. The adrenaline that goes through your body is something you can’t replicate ever unless it’s in a moment like that. People chase that feeling their whole life.”

Every never enjoyed it again on tour.

Amid nagging injuries and struggles with his swing, Every made just 25 of 77 cuts and posted four top-25 finishes during the next three seasons.

A resurgence in 2019 featured seven top-25s, including a runner-up finish at the AT&T Byron Nelson for a $695,200 payday. The success was short-lived. At the 2020 API, Every opened with a 7-under 65 for the first-round lead, but followed with an 83 to miss the cut.

By the time he played his final competitive round at the 2023 Barbasol Championship, Every had missed the cut for the 33rd time in 34 events from 2020-23.

Every is unflinchingly honest about his place in the game.

“These guys are so good. The level of play out here is at an all-time high. The fields are condensing,” he said. “The sportsman in me and also the dad in me knows my time is done. I’ve watched guys flame out in their 40s. I know what it would take to even attempt to play at this level again.

“I’ve been selfish my whole life, man, everything’s been about me.”

Every’s authenticity, along with golf expertise and experience, earned him a chair on “The Drop” at 8 Monday nights on Golf Channel. Every also appears on ESPN and PGA Tour Live with “Betcast,” offering golf-related betting discussion, analysis and tournament previews.

Ever the competitor, Every doesn’t aim to become a media star.

“I want to be me,” he said. “It’s not up to me.”

Every, full of gratitude and unfiltered, might be another winner.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com.

Following 4-under-par 68 Friday, Daniel Berger enters the weekend at Bay Hill Club & Lodge at 13 under and with a five-shot cushion after just one bogey over 36 holes on a typically exacting layout.

Berger’s flawless play positioned the former Florida State All-American for his first PGA Tour win since the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and fifth overall.

But the 32-year-old is well aware he’ll have to navigate unfamiliar territory and hold off a host of capable players. The pack is led by 24-year-old Akshay Bhatia, who is at 8 under after he carded a 66, ending with up-and-downs out of greenside bunkers on the 17th and 18th holes.

“You’re playing the golf course and yourself,” Berger said. “You’re controlling what you can control. It’s not like I’ve done it a million times, so I can’t really tell you exactly how it’s going to feel.

“But I know what I have to do.”

If Berger continues his recent play at Bay Hill, he’ll be difficult to chase down.

During his past five API rounds, he is 22 under par, including 9 under during the final 54 holes in 2025 to tie for ninth.

“The recipe is pretty simple — it’s fairways and greens,” he said. “If you can do that, it’s hard for guys to catch you.”

Easier said than done for many of the world’s best through two rounds.

Berger has found 27 of 36 greens in regulation, or 75%, to rank tied for fifth, and one fewer than four players with 28 GIRs.

Some the game’s preeminent ball strikers have failed to keep pace with Berger.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has hit just 21 greens and sits 3 under at a tournament he won in 2022 and 2024. World No. 3 Tommy Fleetwood hit 20 greens, but made the cut at 1 over. Hideki Matsuyama hit just half (18) of his greens, but has scrambled well enough to sit at even.

Meanwhile, Justin Thomas — from November back surgery for his 2026 season — found only 16 greens to card back-to-back 79s to sit 14 over and in last place.

Bhatia’s execution on and around the greens allowed him to overcome inconsistent iron play (19 greens in regulation). His closing saves out of greenside bunkers left him 14 of 17 in scrambling. He leads the field with 45 total putts.

“I got up and down quite a bit,” the two-time PGA Tour winner said. “Tough golf course.”

Berger needed just 52 putts himself, fewer than only Bhatia and Bud Cauley, who is 4 under and tied for ninth with four players including world No. 2 Rory McIlroy.

Showing no holes in his game, Berger opened with a 63 Thursday and made his only bogey of the week on the 199-yard par-3 7th hole. His tee shot found the right bunker and he missed a par putt from inside 8 feet.

But Berger knows danger lurks throughout Bay Hill’s 7,466-yard layout, which ranked as the fifth-toughest course in 2025 among the PGA Tour’s annual stops. By the end of his round, Berger could sense what lay ahead.

“From yesterday to today you can already feel the difference,” he said. “It’s definitely not going to get easier. However many guys in the field, they all have the same challenge, so it’s fun.”

Three players trail Bhatia by a shot, including 2025 API runner-up Collin Morikawa. He followed an opening 66 with a 71 featuring three front-nine bogeys and just two overall birdies.

At 6 under and in sixth place is fan favorite Rickie Fowler, who had successive 69s to join Berger as the only golfers with two sub-70 rounds.

Defending champion Russell Henley and world No. 10 Xander Schauffele are 5 under. Eight shots would be a lot of ground to make up at most tour stops, but Bay Hill has a history of generating drama, heartbreak — if not outright chaos — on the weekend.

“You play a lot of defense,” Fowler said. “Greens are slick, firm, and it can get a little tricky with the wind. I was out of position a few times, did a good job of just managing and staying away from making any, too many bogeys or big numbers, which can happen pretty quickly out here.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com.

The Arnie missed Rickie, too.

Fowler’s inability to qualify for the 2025 API left a void at the annual event in Orlando, where he’d teed it up since 2017 and was as popular with galleries as any golfer.

But after a year away, Fowler is back and in contention at Bay Hill Club & Lodge. Another 3-under par 69 left him 6-under after 36 holes on Friday afternoon and in a pack of golfers giving chase to first-round leader Daniel Berger.

Fowler’s absence in 2025 lit a fire in him and — coupled with a resurgent golf game —  earned him a spot in this week’s 72-player field.

“It gave me a little motivation,” he said. “It was a bummer not to be here.”

Being denied a sponsor’s exemption stung. But Fowler’s inconsistency was ultimately to blame.

“There’s no guarantees, and it’s up to the tournament and the people involved who they want to give those to,” he said. “It’s a lot easier when you go out and earn it.”

Top-10 finishes during two events in the FedEx Cup Playoffs still left Fowler two spots shy of reaching the Tour Championship, but they were significant progress and among seven top 25s in his final 12 PGA Tour events.

With three more in four events in 2026, Fowler has risen from outside the top 125 in the world rankings 10 months ago to No. 68 entering the week.

A strong finish at Bay Hill would continue Fowler’s quest to secure a bid to the Masters in April. A fourth-place finish or better would move him into the top 50.

Earning a spot in the API was a big step, both professionally and personally.

“I didn’t have to ask for favors or ask for invites,” he said. “So a little more stress-free this year.”

Fowler’s dedication to the event is rooted in his close relationship to the tournament founder. The 37-year-old’s first API was 2010, when he was 21.

When a scheduling conflict prevented him from playing in 2016, Fowler drove from his home in Jupiter to Orlando to personally deliver the news to Palmer before what would become the legend’s final API.

“It was probably one of the hardest things I had to do,” Fowler said. “Felt like worse than a breakup to come up here and tell him that. He wasn’t too excited.

“But obviously him being a player he understood and respected that I came here and told him.”

Fowler first met Palmer when he won an AJGA event at a 17-year-old at Bay Hill in 2006. The two men would go on to develop a special relationship that continues a decade after Palmer’s passing.

On Tuesday, Fowler was delighted to receive the Arnie Award from Golf Digest for his philanthropic works and a relationship with fans reminiscent of the one Palmer enjoyed during his Hall of Fame career.

On Sunday, Fowler hopes to hoist the champion’s trophy and don the red cardigan awarded to the winner. The 2015 Players Championship winner and five-time PGA Tour champion values few tournaments outside the majors more than Palmer’s event.

Back at Bay Hill and in contention, Fowler hopes the next step is the winner’s circle.

“This would be very high on the list,” he said. “It would be a lot more special being able to get that red sweater from Arnie himself. But this has always been one of my favorite events.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com.

Daniel Berger leaned in, found his comfort zone and returned the love with a bogey-free 9-under-par 63, the best round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational since Adam Scott’s tournament record-tying 62 in 2014.

“I’ve been playing really well,” Berger said. “It’s one shot here, one shot there that kind of doesn’t go your way.”

Everything lined up for Berger Thursday, beginning with benevolent conditions at one of the PGA Tour’s toughest annual stops. A lack of wind allowed golfers to attack greens, firming up by the hour while baking in mid-80s temperatures.

“The greens are, like, white,” Berger said.

A year after a squandering a four-shot lead to winner Russell Henley on the final six holes, Collin Morikawa again was stellar with a 66. Jhonattan Vegas and Cam Young carded 67s.

But once the morning wave had passed, Bay Hill pushed back and turned testy as a weather front pushed into Central Florida. Only Ludvig Åberg, who teed off at 1 p.m., was able to meet the familiar challenge at Palmer’s exacting 7,317-yard layout.

The 26-year-old Swede fired a remarkable 66, capped by a birdie putt just inside 25 feet on the 18th hole.

“It was definitely a good day,” he said. “I was rolling it nicely on the greens. I was hitting fairways. Felt like I was not trying to be overly aggressive. I wasn’t trying to be conservative either. But it was tricky with the crosswind.”

Åberg’s 25-foot eagle putt on the par-5 12th erased back-to-back bogeys on holes 10 and 11. Playing partner Nico Echavarria, on the other hand, saw a promising round featuring a front-nine 30 collapse with a triple-bogey 8. He finished even par and tied for 33rd in the 72-player field.

Coming off last week’s win at the Cognizant Classic, Echavarria wasn’t the only golfer in form to lose his way Thursday afternoon.

World No. 3 Tommy Fleetwood shot 76 and Jacob Bridgeman, winner of the Feb. 19 Genesis Invitational, carded a 75. World No. 2 Rory McIroy was 3-under par standing in the fairway of the par-3 13th hole, but found the water from 130 yards and made double-bogey. He followed with a bogey 4 on the 13th hole and finished with a 72.

Meanwhile, Justin Thomas’ PGA Tour debut after a four-month layoff following back surgery ended with a 79, tied at the bottom of leaderboard with Pierceson Coody and 21-year-old South African phenom Aldrich Potgieter.

Berger is familiar with returning from injury. The 32-year-old from Plantation endured a 19-month break spanning 2022–2024) for a serious lower back injury. In August 2025, he broke his right ring finger hitting a 7-iron at the BMW Championship, leading to a three-month layoff Berger figured would be four or five weeks.

“It’s hard,” he said. “Things are going to happen in life, so you just kind of roll with it and deal with it. It just felt like they kind of stacked up a bunch in a row.”

On Thursday, Berger could do little wrong. He followed a solid 33 on the opening nine with a backside birdie blitz, including three straight on holes 10-12, for a 30 on the final nine holes.

He led the field with 5.080 shots gained tee to green, was second to Morikawa with 3.536 strokes gained on approach and trailed only Akshay Bhatia with 3.718 strokes gained putting.

“The biggest thing was getting back into a rhythm,” Berger said.

He now will have to take on Bay Hill Friday afternoon, when winds will gain speed, the greens will become bumpier and the stakes will continue to rise approaching the weekend.

“When you come to Bay Hill to play this event you know what you’re getting,” he said.

Åberg will tee off at 9:45 a.m. with a chance to gain ground in more docile conditions.

Considered a rising star since he joined the tour in 2023, Åberg has won twice but not at the pace expected. A victory at Palmer’s prestigious event could ignite a breakthrough season.

With three top-25s in three starts at Bay Hill, Åberg knows how things can get sideways. He plans to be patient and stick to the process, rather than push for an even better score.

“If you go out with the mindset of trying to shoot 63, you can shoot 77 pretty quickly,” he said.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com.

Horschel was back Thursday at Orlando’s Bay Hill Club in Lodge breathing energy into the morning wave of the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

His golf game also showed some life as he continues to recover from right hip surgery in May of 2025. A bogey-free 3-under-par 69 was the former Florida Gator’s best score at the API since he opened with a 67 in 2022 on his way to runner-up finish to Scottie Scheffler.

“The game’s building, it’s getting better,” he said. “I just need to be a little better with the swing. I just need more reps, I just need to groove it in a little bit more. I want everything to be perfect.

“But at the end of the day it’s about putting the ball in the hole with the least amount of shots and I did a really good job of that today.”

Horschel has ground to make up after Daniel Berger posted a 63 during unusually benign conditions at Bay Hill. The score was one off the tournament record of 62 posted by the late Andy Bean (1981), Greg Norman (1984) and Adam Scott (2014). Only Bean — like Horschel a former UF star — went on the win.

“It’s going to be an incredibly difficult and challenging week,” Berger said. “A  little bit of wind, a little bit less moisture, and it’s just going to be like a U.S. Open. I think when you come to Bay Hill to play this event you know what you’re getting, and so it doesn’t shock me.

“You’re ready for it.”

Whatever lies ahead, Horschel will attack Friday’s round with the passion and personality he’s shown ever since he joined the PGA Tour in 2009.

Wearing salmon-colored pants and a white shirt over his chiseled frame Thursday, he cajoled a few putts, spoke to some shots and talked to himself. Horschel consistently chatted up and down the fairways with playing partner Ryan Fox, an affable, unflappable 39-year-old New Zealander.

“I love someone to talk to,” Fox told the Orlando Sentinel. “With Billy, you’re always going to get a chat out of him. So that was great. I like one as well.

“The self commentary going around is brilliant.”

Fox did a double-take on the 13th tee box when Horschel barked, “Stop it!” Wondering what he or his caddie had done, Fox quickly realized Horschel was admonishing himself.

“I sort of jumped,” Fox said. “And then he goes, ’Stop it, Billy. You can’t keep doing that.’ We had a laugh about it down the fairway.”

Horschel’s approach has made him both a popular and polarizing presence on the PGA Tour.

Unapologetic, opinionated and unfailingly authentic, the 39-year-old rarely hides his thoughts or feelings inside or outside the ropes.

During last week’s Cognizant Classic, he exchanged words with a spectator after a poor shot led to a triple-bogey.

“I guess you guys wanna make yourselves feel good about yourselves with a comment like that, don’t ya?” Horschel said after his pitch from behind the par-3 15th hole found water in front of the green.

On Thursday, fans cheered Horschel as he neared the finish of his round.

Orlando’s Zach Hartley yelled, “Go Gators!,” as Horschel walked up the 18th fairway.

“He’s always an entertainer,” Hartley said.

An iron shot from the right rough landed left of the green, but a deft pitch shot to a few feet led an up-and-down that completed Horschel’s round with Fox, who shot 68.

Horschel, who got into the limited-field, 72-player event on a sponsor’s exemption, hit just 7 of 14 fairways, but he found 13 of 18 greens. He surprised himself following a discouraging warm-up session because of hip tightness and discomfort.

“I didn’t know what was going to happen out there,” Horschel said. “But I hit a couple good shots early to sort of give me a little confidence. Played really nicely. Something that I can hopefully build off the next few days.”

Horschel walked away in a good position to reach the weekend after missed cuts in 2023 and 2025. Winning for the ninth time on tour is likely down the road, but he’s already well ahead of schedule.

Doctors repaired a massive tear in his labrum, shaved down some bone to open up his hip capsule and addressed two micro fractures. A yearlong recovery period loomed. The hard-charging Horschel returned in fewer than six months, but continues to get back to full speed.

“They’re all a little shocked I’ve come back as quickly as I have and I’m able to do what I am,” he said. “I try to beat timelines. I don’t listen. I think I’m different … and show the doctors.

“But there’s a reason they’re doctors and there’s a reason I’m not.”

Horschel’s abilities as a golfer, entertainer and big personality have served him well, earning him 11 professional wins and more than $40 million in earnings.

But when he was away from the game, Horschel discovered life without golf didn’t leave a hole he couldn’t fill. He set aside his obsession with the game to spend time with his wife, Brittany, and their three children, ages 11, 8 and 7.

“I saw what it’s like on the other side,” he said. “It’s pretty (expletive) good. So life’s pretty good on the other side.”

Professional golf, though, is better with Horschel.

“Golf needs its characters,” Fox said. “He’s certainly one of them. He’s good fun, and we need more guys like it.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com.

It has been about the future.

And more specifically, it’s about the man tasked with shaping it:

His name is Brian Rolapp.

Rolapp is replacing outgoing commissioner Jay Monahan, yet his title will not be commissioner; it will be the decidedly more corporate designation of “CEO” — and for good reason. The PGA Tour, which used to be strictly non-profit, is now in the business of making money … big money.

And Rolapp arrives from the biggest money-making sports endeavor in the history of the world — the National Football League. His career was built inside the NFL, where he served as chief media and business officer and helped oversee the most powerful sports media ecosystem on the planet.

And if there’s one thing Rolapp learned in football, it’s that success in modern sports often comes down to something simple: public attention and interest.

When asked recently about rooting interests during his time in the NFL, Rolapp gave a revealing answer.

“I didn’t cheer for teams,” he said. “I cheer for television ratings. So whoever is behind, that’s who I’ll cheer for.”

It wasn’t just a funny line; it was an instructive one.

Because Rolapp now oversees a business that is very much about generating value.

The Tour is no longer just a comfortable nonprofit content to carry on as it always has, staging tournaments, handing out prize money and calling the model a success. It is now partly backed by the massive investment from Strategic Sports Group — $1.5 billion injected into the sport with the expectation of a return.

That not only changes the calculus; it likely will change the entire structure of professional golf.

If Rolapp’s early comments are any indication, the NFL’s influence is already showing. He recently outlined three guiding ideas he wants a new competition committee  to explore:

Parity, simplicity and scarcity.

Those three words might sound abstract.

But they are essentially the core principles of the NFL.

Parity keeps fans engaged.

Simplicity makes competition easy to follow.

Scarcity makes events feel important.

And in golf, at least two of those ideas feel particularly relevant.

Parity, for example, is already alive and well, but simplicity and scarcity hint at something potentially transformative.

Let’s face it, for years, the Tour’s season has been anything but simple. To this day, does anybody really understand how the FedEx Cup works? It’s the only playoff system in the world that requires a flow chart.

“Competition should be easy to follow,” Rolapp said recently. “The regular season and postseason should be connected in a way that builds towards a Tour Championship in a way that all sports fans can understand.”

As for scarcity, the NFL’s secret weapon since the beginning has always been “less is more.” Fewer games mean more important games. Meanwhile, the Tour Championship last year was the 38th event of the season. At that point, the only scarce thing left was the attention span of golf fans.

“A focus on the Tour’s top players competing together more often in events that feel special for fans and feel special for the players,” Rolapp says.

That philosophy has already taken shape in the Tour’s signature events, such as The Arnie, which feature smaller fields and larger purses. Even more of these types of star-studded events will create a college football landscape in which you have elite programs in the Power 4 and then Group of 6 leagues like the MAC and Sun Belt playing for scraps.

“Here’s as eloquently as I can put it,” PGA Tour veteran and former U.S. Open winner Lucas Glover told esteemed Sports Illustrated golf writer Bob Harig. “It’s a shame that we’re continuing to trend in this direction. It’s legitimately becoming two tours, which is sad.”

Scottie Scheffler unfazed by slow starts entering Bay Hill test

It may be sad for the PGA Tour’s middle and lower tiers, but it’s much more enticing for the fans and the TV viewers. What could soon be happening in golf should be a lesson for other sports.

Consider the NBA, which continues to grapple with the challenges of its 82-game season:
Load management. Tanking. Long stretches of games that feel inconsequential. Imagine if the NBA adopted more of the NFL’s scarcity mode – fewer games, higher stakes, more urgency.

The result might look a lot like what Rolapp is trying to build in golf: a schedule built around events that truly matter. From a business perspective, Rolapp’s thinking reflects a broader reality across sports:

The biggest stars drive the biggest audiences.

Some of the Tour’s most influential players are already engaging with Rolapp and are raving about his no-nonsense, git-r-done approach. Like when he accelerated five-time major winner Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour after spending four seasons on the rival LIV Golf circuit.

“You look at a situation like Brooks,” Scottie Scheffler says. “That was something where Brooks had a desire to come back (to the PGA Tour), and he’s a guy that provides a ton of value for our fans and sponsors. … And Rolapp’s like, ‘OK, he wants to come back, let’s figure out how to do this.’ And then he gets it done in pretty quick fashion.”

Bianchi: Ten years after Arnie’s death, the King’s swing still echoes through Bay Hill

Says Rory McIlroy: “I like him. I like him a lot. I like that he doesn’t come from golf. I like that he doesn’t have any preconceived ideas of what golf should look like or what the Tour should look like. I think he’s going to bring a fresh perspective to everything.”

There is no doubt about it, the PGA Tour is entering a new era shaped not just by players, but by business realities. And if Brian Rolapp ultimately brings a pro football mindset into golf’s DNA, well, you rarely go wrong by following the NFL’s blueprint.

If that transformation begins anywhere, it might as well start this week at Bay Hill, where the game’s past, embodied by Arnold Palmer’s legacy, meets with the uncertain but fascinating future of the sport.

Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on social media @BianchiWrites and listen to my new radio show “Game On” every weekday from 3 to 6 p.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen