Akshay Bhatia beat fellow American Daniel Berger on the first sudden death play-off hole to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando.
Berger, who had led since the first round, bogeyed the par four 18th as he missed a putt from seven feet, while Bhatia made par to seal his third PGA Tour win.
Bhatia, 24, went into the final round a shot behind Berger, but four birdies on the back nine which included a 57ft putt on the par four 11th plus an eagle on the par five 16th saw him card a three-under par 69.
That put him on 15 under for the tournament, level with Berger, who shot a 70.
“Everyone knows when you show up to Bay Hill it’s going to be a test and to play one of the hardest golf courses,” mentioned Bhatia after winning his first PGA Tour title since the 2024 Texas Open, also won via a play-off. “And to succeed is really cool.”
Berger, 32, who has not won on the PGA Tour since 2021, led by five shots after the second round.
But his lead was cut to one on Sunday morning when the third round was completed, having been delayed because of darkness on Saturday.
“Obviously it didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” Berger mentioned. “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. So a lot of positives, a lot of things to learn from.”
American Cameron Young and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg were tied for third place on 12 under, while world number one Scottie Scheffler carded a 73 to finish on two under in a tie for 23th.
England’s Harry Hall was tied for ninth on eight under.
Northern Ireland’s five-time major winner Rory McIlroy was forced to withdraw before the third round on Saturday because of back spasms.
