Akshay Bhatia used a late-round eagle to help secure a 3-under-par 69 before winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational in a playoff Sunday in Orlando, Fla.
Bhatia’s par on the extra hole was enough when Daniel Berger missed a putt from about 7 1/2 feet.
They both were at 15-under 273 for the tournament at Bay Hill Club and Lodge.
Bhatia won for the third time on the PGA Tour with his first victory since the 2024 Texas Open. It was the tournament’s first playoff since 1999.
Berger, seeking his fifth tour victory and first in more than five years, shot 70 in the final round.
There was lots of drama on the last hole in regulation. With his tee shot into the rough on No. 18, Berger chose to lay up rather than try to carry the lake guarding the green. Bhatia put his second shot within 19 feet of the hole and then needed a tap-in for par. Berger sank a 13 1/2-foot putt, with the ball curling into the cup, to match Bhatia’s par and extend the tournament.
Berger was in the rough off the tee again on the playoff hole, and this time he couldn’t make a full recovery.
Cameron Young (69) and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg (67) tied for third place at 12 under and Collin Morikawa (70), seeking his second victory in four weeks, was fifth at 11 under.
Hours earlier, Berger’s lead dipped to one stroke on Bhatia after they were among a few groups completing the weather-interrupted third round Sunday morning. Bhatia posted birdie on No. 18 to finish the third round.
Berger and Bhatia were in the final pairing for the second round in a row.
Bhatia drew even briefly with an eagle 3 — courtesy of a 3-foot putt — on the 16th hole, but Berger walked off the green with a one-stroke lead after posting birdie.
Berger relinquished the final-round lead with a bogey on No. 17.
Berger dodged early trouble when his tee shot on the par-5 fourth hole went into a creek off the fairway, but he managed to produce a birdie on the hole.
Bhatia got back in it with four consecutive birdies to begin the back nine after a three-bogey, one-birdie front side. That included a 58-foot birdie putt on No. 11.
Sahith Theegala had the final round’s best score with 66, allowing him to share sixth place at 10 under with Russell Henley (68) and Australia’s Min Woo Lee (70).
World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler’s 73 marked his worst round of the tournament. He tied for 24th place at 2 under.
–Field Level Media
