Berger shines at Bay Hill with a 63; Thomas returns with 79

Daniel Berger Shines at the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a Flawless Round

Orlando, Fla. – Daniel Berger dazzled at the Arnold Palmer Invitational with an outstanding performance, achieving nine birdies and an impressive score of 63, a round that nobody anticipated for Thursday at Bay Hill. Berger completed his round without bogeys in the morning, securing a three-stroke lead at the end of the day. His score was significantly better than the average of the 72-player field, as only 32 managed to break par. Collin Morikawa, who was the runner-up last year, positioned himself in the middle of the group, culminating his performance with eagle-birdie-birdie, which earned him a 66. Ludvig Åberg also recorded a 66, highlighting that his afternoon round, when the wind intensified, was three strokes better than any other player who competed at that time. Åberg, after facing consecutive bogeys at the start of the second half of the course, achieved an eagle on the 12th hole. Scottie Scheffler, for his part, scored a 70, marking his first initial under-par round since his first tournament of the year, which he won. Rory McIlroy, playing in the afternoon, struggled with a shot that took him to the water on the 13th hole, resulting in a double bogey, and a bogey on the 18th, finishing with 72.

“It has that US Open vibe,” Berger commented on Bay Hill. “I think the course will become more challenging as the week goes on. The greens will get firm… So, you have to hit the ball well in the fairway and try to make as many putts as possible.”

Daniel Berger

Cameron Young, with seven birdies, closed his round with 67. Adam Scott and Xander Schauffele also stood out.

“You can lose control in the first round because the scoreboard can get away,” Scott stated. “If you’re 5 over par today, it’s a long way back, especially when there’s a 9 under par, which is hard to see.”

Adam Scott

Nico Echavarria, winner of the Cognizant Classic, had a promising start, but a triple bogey on the 12th hole affected his performance. Justin Thomas, after five months of recovery from back surgery, had a difficult comeback with a 79. He suffered a double bogey on the 11th hole and another on the 16th.

“It was hard to say it was good to be back,” Thomas said. “No, obviously, as I expected. But the aspect of inactivity was a little bit what I anticipated.”

Justin Thomas