One of golf’s budding stars finally shone brightest throughout 4 rounds of motion on the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational as Akshay Bhatia battled a wayward driver and a world-class subject en path to probably the most substantial victory of his younger profession. Bhatia completed his week at Bay Hill Club & Lodge at 15 underneath, edging 18-, 36- and 54-hole chief Daniel Berger on the primary playoff gap.
The playoff was the primary held on the Arnold Palmer Invitational since 1999, three years earlier than its new champion was born. Bhatia turned the eighth PGA Tour participant in historical past to win his first three tournaments in playoffs, bettering to 3-0 in additional holes for his younger profession.
Bhatia and Berger went to the 72nd gap tied at 15 underneath. Bhatia made a comparatively stress-free par, whereas Berger received up-and-down from 70 yards to power additional holes. Opening the playoff, Bhatia as soon as once more discovered the green whereas Berger hit into the left tough. Berger was unable to conjure up the identical magic from regulation, carding a bogey and giving solution to Bhatia’s tournament-sealing par.
The wiry left-hander’s arrow continues to level up as his third PGA Tour trophy marks his first signature occasion victory. Bhatia beforehand held a considerable lead over the weekend on the first signature occasion of the season, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, earlier than finally squandering a 54-hole lead on the West Coast.
Bhatia bounces as much as No. 2 in the FedEx Cup standings behind solely Collin Morikawa.
Berger and Bhatia have been pressured to return to the golf course Sunday morning to complete their third rounds. Bhatia made inroads as he dropped in a birdie over the sting of the cup on the par-4 18th, whereas Berger made bogey to make the eventual champion’s 54-hole deficit only a single stroke.
The two returned in the identical pairing in the afternoon, the place Bhatia was the primary to blink with a gap bogey. The back-and-forth got here in waves all day as runs have been materialized by these out in entrance of them on the course, comparable to Morikawa, Ludvig Åberg and Cameron Young.
Despite the barrage of birdies from their friends, it was Berger who made the flip with a commanding four-stroke lead as Bhatia struggled to search out fairway — as he did all week — and at last bumped into his fair proportion of bogeys, carding three on his entrance 9.
However, as soon as the ultimate two made the flip, the tides moved with them. Bhatia made birdies on Nos. 10-12 to chop Berger’s result in three earlier than a monumental two-shot swing got here on the par-4 thirteenth as Berger made bogey and Bhatia as soon as once more rolled in a magnificence from 10 ft.
The lead expanded as soon as extra to 2 strokes when Bhatia made bogey on the following, however he greater than made up for it with a laser method into the par-5 sixteenth that just about resulted in an albatross. He as an alternative settled for an eagle, and when Berger scored bogey on the par-3 seventeenth, the 2 have been tied going to the final gap.
While Bhatia appeared to have the higher hand in regulation, he needed to wait a couple of minutes longer to money in on what is certain to be the primary of many big-time wins in the younger man’s profession. Grade: A+
Here are the grades for the remainder of the notables on the leaderboard on the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
2. Daniel Berger (-15): Berger led for what felt like 99% of the golf event — simply not the 1% that mattered. He almost turned the third participant in event historical past to go wire-to-wire; as an alternative, he emerged as a playoff loser as he was unable to search out the green on the 18th gap, lacking it thrice on Sunday alone. The climb again to relevance has been spectacular for Berger, who dipped exterior the highest 600 in the Official World Golf Rankings whereas nursing an harm and has since returned to being thought-about a severe risk at vital tournaments. Grade: A
T3. Ludvig Åberg (-12): A sluggish begin to his 2026 marketing campaign has been brushed apart. After notching a high 20 end at Riviera, Åberg severely threatened the leaders on Sunday earlier than settling for a top-five end. Åberg is all the time going to drive the ball properly — he ranked high 5 in strokes gained off the tee, driving accuracy and driving distance — which implies it was the iron play that raised eyebrows. Flighting mid-irons, hitting his home windows whereas in between golf equipment, the Swedish famous person took a considerable step in the proper path with the golf equipment that maintain the destiny of his profitable aspirations. Grade: A
5. Collin Morikawa (-11): While his story at Bay Hill didn’t come full circle from a season in the past when he squandered a three-stroke lead over the ultimate six holes, Morikawa made his presence identified. A month faraway from wanting misplaced, he is arguably probably the most assured golfer in the world. Elite accuracy off the tee, precision into the greens and bettering on the greens themselves, the two-time main champion is enjoying so much just like the participant who raised these two main trophies. Grade: A-
T9. Rickie Fowler (-8): There is so much to love about Fowler’s recreation for the time being, particularly contemplating how he navigated by means of Bay Hill. The six-time PGA Tour winner ranked high 10 in driving accuracy, greens in regulation and strokes gained placing. The par-4 18th gave him some points over the weekend, however he managed to maintain errors off the scorecard and gather his fourth high 20 end in 5 begins this yr. Once he begins to hit his irons a hair nearer, his scoring will enhance, and his possibilities of profitable will as properly. Grade: B+
T24. Scottie Scheffler (-2): One event after snapping his high 10 streak, Scheffler ended his run of high 20 finishes. The two-time event winner regarded discombobulated from the soar, and he was by no means in a position to threaten the highest of the leaderboard at a golf course he has largely dominated of late. Scheffler’s iron play was as soon as once more the primary wrongdoer, though it was not with out equipment. Putting a brand new driver in play, he hit simply north of fifty% of fairways, inflicting him to play extra protection than offense.
“Today, one of the things I was hoping to feel a little bit better about was my iron play, and [I] got out there and I hit a lot of really, really nice iron shots,” Scheffler mentioned. “Some worked out, others got some wind shifts, but overall, I felt like I struck it really nicely today, which was an improvement I was hoping to see after yesterday.” Grade: C-
