Blog#316BAP Final Results RDs 3&4 Arnold Palmer Invitational March 9,2026

Blog#316BAP Final Results RDs 3&4 Arnold Palmer Invitational March 9,2026

ROUND 3 Windier today and a 1hour rain delay. Rory McIlroy withdraws after tweaking back.

50 players left after cut+2.

1 D Berger-13 72 Loses 4 strokes off lead by shooting par with 3 birdies & 3 bogies one on 18.

2 A Bhatia-12 68 Great putting overcomes 3 bogies on front 9 with 3 birdies on last 4 holes.

3 C Morikawa-9 70 Bogie free back 9 with 3 birdies to stay in 3rd place.

3 S Straka-9 66 Birdies 3 of 1st 4 holes then 4 more and only 1 bogie, up from #33 RD1.

3 C Young-9 67 Four straight birdies 10 to 13 then only bogie on 15 but moves up 6 spots.

6 MW Lee-8 68 Bogies 1st hole then 5 birdies, up 3 spots.

7 L Aberg-7 72 Bad start with 3 bogies on 1st 10 holes, then 3 straight birdies 12,13&14.

7 C Gotterup-7 69 DB on #11 ruins bogie free RD and takes him out of contention.

9 R Fowler-6 72 First over 70 RD with bogies on #3&18.

12 J Spieth-5 68 Best RD of tournament, only 1 bogie & 5 birdies.

15 S Theegala-4 75 After low 67 inRD2 has 7 bogies, shades of last year.

20 S Scheffler-2 72 Starts with 4 bogies front 9, back 9, 5 birdies from #11 to 16, but DB on 18.

FINAL ROUND

#12 Berger Maintains lead with 1 bogie 4 birdies thru 12 for a 3 stroke lead $2.2M

but bogies #13, lead shrinks to 1-15.

#14 & 15 Pars both for 2 stroke lead, as Bhatia boggies #15.

#16 Despite Bhati’s incredible approach shot and eagle, his birdie keeps the lead at 1.

#17 Misses 7’ putt for bogie, now tied at-15.

#18 Tee shot into rough 2nd lays up, 3rd on green for 30’ putt which he makes to get to playoff.

#9 Bhatia Front 9 has 3 bogies to go down 5 at-10, then birdies 10,11,12,13 to go-14. $4M

Pars #14, on #15 misses makable putt for bogie-13.

#16 Almost holes 2nd shot for Albatross 2, but makes 1’ putt for eagle and cuts lead to 1.

#17 Just misses long birdie putt for par and lead is tied as Berger bogies.

#18 Tee shot in fareway 2nd shot just off green, chips to within 1’ which he sinks for playoff.

3 Aberg-12 67 In the mix after birdies on 10&12, but all pars after that. $1.2M

3 Young-12 69 Makes a run with 3 birdies 0 bogies then 12 on all pars. $1.2M

5 Morikawa-11 70 Eagles #16 to have a chance then par&bogie. $840K

6 Theegala-10 66 Starts in 15th place but gets to-11 with 6 birdies thru 12, pars next 6. $702K

6 Henley-10 68 Bogie free RD, but never in contention. $702K

11 Spieth-6 71 Getting better, and has finished in top12 in last 3 tournaments. $493K

13 Straka-5 76 Worse RD of the day, finishes with 5 bogies 5 pars last 10 holes. $373K

24 Scheffler-2 73 DBs on 14&18 along with 2 bogies 5 birdies for 4 Rds 70+. 4157K

50 Brian Herman+10 74 Last place also #50 at Genesis missed cuts at AM XP& WM. $54K

COMMENTARY

No doubt one of the best of a 6 hole finish, starting with #14 and ending with Bhataia making a short birdie putt after Berger misses a makable 7’ birdie putt on 1st playoff hole.

It was match play between these 2 from the 14th hole on as no one else was close.

Unlike last week when Shane Lowry double bogies 2 of the last 3 holes, Berger was just out played on the back 9 holes with incredible putting an overall great play by Bhatia, especially his approach shot on #16 which came close to a double eagle, but an eagle, which Berger almost kept pace with a birdie.