Akshay Bhatia won the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational in a sudden-death playoff against Daniel Berger Sunday, March 8 at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida.
Bhatia trailed by five shots heading to the back nine but shot 31 coming home to force the playoff after he tied Berger at -15 through 18 holes. It was the Arnold Palmer Invitational’s first playoff since 1999 when Tim Herron defeated Tom Lehman.
Bhatia earned his third career PGA Tour victory, with all three coming in the playoffs. He dedicated Sunday’s victory to his niece, who died in December.
Berger entered the final round with a one-shot lead at -13, with Bhatia behind him at -12.
The two were among the golfers who finished out the third round on Sunday morning, after play was suspended on Saturday evening because of darkness. There was a rain delay on Saturday afternoon that ultimately pushed the event into the evening hours.
Ludvig Aberg and Cameron Young were also in contention during the final round before finishing in a tie for third.
Here are the final scores and how the $20 million purse was distributed:
2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational payouts
Finishing position, final score, money earned (a-amateur):
- 1. Akshay Bhatia (-15) — $4,000,000
- 2. Daniel Berger (-15) — $2,200,000
- T3. Ludvig Aberg (-12) — $1,200,000
- T3. Cameron Young (-12) — $1,200,000
- 5. Collin Morikawa (-11) — $840,000
- T6. Sahith Theegala (-10) — $702,000
- T6. Russell Henley (-10) — $702,000
- T6. Min Woo Lee (-10) — $702,000
- T9. Harry Hall (-8) — $578,000
- T9. Rickie Fowler (-8) — $578,000
- T11. Adam Scott (-6) — $493,000
- T11. Jordan Spieth (-6) — $493,000
- T13. Sepp Straka (-5) — $373,200
- T13. Billy Horschel (-5) — $373,200
- T13. Maverick McNealy (-5) — $373,200
- T13. Si Woo Kim (-5) — $373,200
- T13. Viktor Hovland (-5) — $373,200
- T18. Chris Gotterup (-3) — $261,000
- T18. Max Greyserman (-3) — $261,000
- T18. Kurt Kitayama (-3) — $261,000
- T18. Jacob Bridgeman (-3) — $261,000
- T18. Jhonattan Vegas (-3) — $261,000
- T18. Bud Cauley (-3) — $261,000
- T24. Lucas Glover (-2) — $157,000
- T24. Robert MacIntyre (-2) — $157,000
- T24. Nicolai Højgaard (-2) — $157,000
- T24. Ryan Fox (-2) — $157,000
- T24. Patrick Rodgers (-2) — $157,000
- T24. Alex Noren (-2) — $157,000
- T24. Harris English (-2) — $157,000
- T24. Scottie Scheffler (-2) — $157,000
- T24. Xander Schauffele (-2) — $157,000
- T33. Keith Mitchell (-1) — $109,000
- T33. Michael Kim (-1) — $109,000
- T33. Corey Conners (-1) — $109,000
- T33. Ryo Hisatsune (-1) — $109,000
- T33. Michael Thorbjornsen (-1) — $109,000
- T38. Nick Taylor (E) — $90,000
- T38. Taylor Pendrith (E) — $90,000
- T38. Andrew Novak (E) — $90,000
- T41. Hideki Matsuyama (+1) — $78,000
- T41. Matt McCarty (+1) — $78,000
- T41. Matt Fitzpatrick (+1) — $78,000
- T44. Nico Echavarria (+2) — $66,000
- T44. Taylor Moore (+2) — $66,000
- T44. Andrew Putnam (+2) — $66,000
- T47. Chris Kirk (+5) — $58,000
- T47. a-Daniel Bennett (+5) — $0
- 49. Tommy Fleetwood (+6) — $56,000
- 50. Brian Harman (+10) — $54,000
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.