Akshay Bhatia collected a third PGA TOUR title thanks to a play-off triumph over Daniel Berger at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The 24-year-old American came into the final round at Bay Hill a shot adrift of overnight leader Daniel Berger who had topped the leaderboard since the first round. Berger looked set to achieve a wire-to-wire victory after extending his advantage to four as the players approached the turn. However, Bhatia produced a sublime back nine charge which included four successive birdies from the 10th to fire him into contention.
A bogey at the 15th did not rattle Bhatia as he regained momentum from his birdie run with a stunning eagle at the 16th which brought him level with his fellow countryman after Berger dropped the following shot. The pair were level heading into the 18th and could not be separated as both made par to finish on 15 under with Bhatia carding a 3-under 69.
The duo strolled back to the 18th for the Signature Event’s first play-off since 1999 which Bhatia swiftly concluded by two-putting from around 25 feet for par, a score Berger was unable to match or better, to seal his third career PGA TOUR win.
Victory means Bhatia becomes the eighth player in PGA TOUR history to record their first three wins on the circuit via a play-off adding to his wins at the 2023 Barracuda Championship and 2024 Valero Texas Open. He also climbs to second on the FedExCup standings.
“Everyone knows when you show up to this tournament how hard it is, an elite field, obviously, and just very honored to win his event,” Bhatia said afterwards. “I know he was up there watching and probably pretty proud of how that finish was for this week.”
Bhatia added: “To win for Mr Palmer, especially with what he’s done for this community and tournament is really special. My niece passed away in December, so I knew she was looking over me this year and this win is for her.”
Berger, who has failed to taste success on the PGA TOUR since 2021, retained he was “proud” of himself despite letting victory slip after leading the way for the majority of the tournament.
“Obviously it didn’t go the way I wanted it to, 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,” Berger explained.
“A lot of positives, a lot of things to learn from. I think my game is sharp, just need to clean a few things up here and there. It’s tough to win. I feel like I did a good job, and a shot here or there was the difference.”
American Cameron Young and Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg finished in a share for third on 12 under while current leader on the FedExCup standings, Collin Morikawa, completed the top five finishing a shot further back on 11 under. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler struggled throughout to finish in T24 and World No. 2 Rory McIlroy withdrew from the event on Saturday due to a back injury.
What is the next event?
The next event on the PGA TOUR schedule is THE PLAYERS Championship taking place between 12-15 March at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.