Daniel Berger maintains a two-shot lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational despite his birdie pace slowing after Saturday’s rain delay at Bay Hill. Play was suspended due to darkness with Berger facing a 35-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th hole when action resumes Sunday morning.
What started as a potential runaway has transformed into a genuine tournament. Berger’s five-shot advantage entering the weekend has shrunk considerably, with Akshay Bhatia now just two strokes back after getting up-and-down from a bunker for birdie before play was halted.
Rory McIlroy withdrew about 30 minutes before his tee time due to back muscle spasms, his first tournament withdrawal in 13 years. The issue isn’t expected to keep him out of next week’s Players Championship.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler likely played himself out of contention with a roller-coaster round. After a rough start, he caught fire with five birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine, only to watch his approach from ankle-deep rough on 18 bounce off the bank and into the water. The resulting double bogey gave him a 72, leaving him facing what will likely be a double-digit deficit.
Berger sits at 13-under par — even for his round — though his lead will almost certainly grow once he returns for that eagle putt. Bhatia is at 11 under with the challenging finishing holes still to play.
“It’s an uncomfortable golf course,” Bhatia said. “And it’s not going to get any easier.”
Cameron Young fired a 67 to reach 9-under 207, joining Sepp Straka (66) and Collin Morikawa (70) in a tie for third. Young has a special connection to this event, having spent winters in Orlando as a kid playing nearby courses and occasionally visiting Bay Hill.
“I looked up at his statue going to practice every day at school,” said Young, who like Palmer is a Wake Forest alum. “He had a tremendous influence on golf in general, and at Wake Forest. It would be a huge honor to even have a chance, honestly.”
Players essentially faced two different courses on Saturday. Bay Hill was brutal before heavy rain halted play for just over an hour. With minimal grass on the greens — dead grass, at that — water pooled quickly. When play resumed, the greens were noticeably softer and less intimidating.
“The rain created a little bit of friction to where your ball was more rolling instead of kind of skidding is how I would describe it,” Scheffler explained.
Young described the difference as substantial: “It went from what we know Bay Hill for on the weekend to just a notch below that.”
Berger hasn’t been as sharp as during his opening rounds when he racked up 14 birdies. He’s traded birdies on par 5s with bogeys from missed greens, but has maintained his composure and his lead.
Much depends on how Berger handles the closing holes when play resumes. Young, however, isn’t convinced the current standings tell the full story.
“Anything can happen,” he said. “Any time you get a golf course this difficult, and this many good players within a couple shots of each other… any one of them could take a really difficult golf course and make it look easy.”
