Arnold Palmer Invitational: Akshay Bhatia defeats Daniel Berger in the deciding match

Akshay Bhatia defeated fellow American Daniel Berger in the first round of sudden-death playoff to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando.

Berger, who had led since the first round, stunned the par-4 18th when he missed a putt from seven feet, while Bhatia parred for his third PGA Tour victory.

Bhatia, 24, went into the final round a shot behind Berger, but four birdies on the back nine that included a 57-foot putt on the par four 11th plus an eagle on the par five 16th left him with a three-under-par 69.

This made him score 15 goals under zero in the tournament, equal to Berger, who scored 70 goals.

“Everyone knows that when you get to Bay Hill, it’s going to be a test and playing one of the toughest golf courses,” Bhatia said after winning his first PGA Tour title since the 2024 Texas Open, which he also won via a playoff. “And success is really cool.”

Berger, 32, who has not won on the PGA Tour since 2021, leads by five shots after the second round.

But his lead was reduced to one point on Sunday morning when the third round ended after being postponed due to darkness on Saturday.

“Obviously it didn’t go the way I wanted it to go,” Berger said. “But at the beginning of the week if you told me I’d have a chance to win Bay Hill on the 18th hole, I’d be happy with that. So there’s a lot of positives, a lot of things to learn from.”

American Cameron Young and Sweden’s Ludwig Aberg tied for third place with 12 under, while world number one Scottie Scheffler had 73 points to finish tied for 23rd place.

England’s Harry Hall tied for ninth at eight under.

Five-time Northern Irish Premier League champion Rory McIlroy was forced to withdraw before Saturday’s third round due to back spasms.