Arnold Palmer Invitational Round 3: Rain, Darkness and a Sunday Morning Swing Cut Berger's Lead to One

Saturday at Bay Hill took two days, one rainstorm and a lot of patience to finish. When it was over, Daniel Berger still had the lead, but the five-shot cushion he carried into the weekend had shrunk to one.

Berger shot an even-par 72 in a third round that was halted by heavy rain on Saturday afternoon, stopped by darkness that evening and completed on Sunday morning. He sits at 13-under 203 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Akshay Bhatia, his playing partner, shot 68 and is one back at 12 under. Cameron Young (67), Sepp Straka (66) and Collin Morikawa (70) are tied for third at 9 under, four behind.

A Lead Under Water

The day started with the same rock-hard Bay Hill that had punished the field for two rounds. Then the sky opened. Heavy rain stopped play for just over an hour in the afternoon, and before the horn sounded, the dead, sparse turf on the greens was holding pools of water.

When play resumed, it was a different golf course. The greens softened and became far easier to putt. Scottie Scheffler said the rain gave the ball some friction, so it rolled instead of skidding. Young put it neatly. "It went from what we know Bay Hill for on the weekend to just a notch below that," Young said, per the AP.

That should have been good news for the leader. Instead, Berger spent most of the afternoon treading water. He birdied two of the par 5s but gave both back with bogeys after missing greens, and when darkness came he was even for the day, standing over a 35-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th with three holes still to play. He led Bhatia by two overnight.

Sunday Morning Swing

The horn sounded again early Sunday, and the short sprint that followed changed the shape of the final round.

Berger two-putted from 35 feet for birdie at 16 to get to 14 under and stretch his lead to three. Then the 18th bit him. His tee shot found the right rough, he had to lay up, and after a wedge to about 10 feet, his par putt slid by. Bogey, 72, 13 under.

Bhatia did the opposite. He had already clawed back into the picture Saturday by getting up and down from a bunker for birdie at 16. On Sunday morning, at the 18th, his 10-foot birdie putt hung on the edge of the cup for what felt like forever before it dropped. That gave him a 68 and turned a three-shot gap into one in a matter of minutes.

Young Finds Something Personal

Young's 67 carried the best story in the chase pack. He made four straight birdies to start the back nine and jumped into a share of third. The connection runs deeper than a leaderboard. Young spent winters in Orlando growing up and went to Wake Forest, Arnold Palmer's school.

"I looked up at his statue going to practice every day at school," Young said, per the AP.

Straka went one better with a 66, one of the best scores of the week, and Morikawa ground out a 70, finishing just before darkness on Saturday. Min Woo Lee shot 68 to get to 8 under, and Ludvig Åberg and Chris Gotterup are tied for seventh at 7 under.

Rory Out, Scheffler Sinks

The weekend lost its biggest draw before he could hit a shot. Rory McIlroy withdrew about 30 minutes before his tee time with spasms in his lower back. He was tied for ninth at 4 under. McIlroy said he felt a twinge while warming up in the gym and that it did not loosen up on the range. According to the AP, it was his first withdrawal from a tournament in 13 years, and it was not expected to keep him out of THE PLAYERS Championship next week.

Scheffler, meanwhile, had a roller coaster. He made four bogeys on the front nine, then caught fire with five birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back. It all came apart at the last, where his approach from ankle-deep rough skipped off the bank and into the water. Double bogey, 72, and he is 10 shots back at 3 under.

Even Jordan Spieth had a strange moment, needing help from fans to find his ball buried in the rough at the 12th.

The Final-Round Stakes

Berger is 18 holes from his first PGA TOUR win since 2021 and from a Masters invitation that a victory would hand him. He would also be the first wire-to-wire winner at Bay Hill in a decade, according to the AP. The problem is the man standing next to him on the tee. Bhatia has gone 66, 68 over the last two rounds and just watched a three-shot gap become one in the space of two holes.

History says nobody should expect a runaway. Five of the last six editions at Bay Hill have been decided by a single shot. With three players lurking four back, Sunday afternoon is set up for exactly what this event does best.

Catch up on the first two rounds in our Round 1 recap and Round 2 recap. Full scores are on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR has its Round 3 recap (opens in a new tab).

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 3 recaps and leaderboard), AP, Golf Channel, RTÉ, Field Level Media. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.