On the first day of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida, Daniel Berger had a perfect round with nine birdies and a commanding three-stroke lead.
The 32-year-old American, who has won four times on the PGA Tour, his last victory coming five years ago at Pebble Beach, picked up three birdies on the front nine but caught fire in six.
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The early pacesetter had three straight birdies starting at the 10th, added a birdie at the par-3 14th with an 11-foot putt, and two more at the 16th and 18th for a bogey-free round of 63.
Berger has a three-place lead over recent Pebble Beach champion Collin Morikawa and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shot a 70, and Rory McIlroy, who is preparing to defend his Masters title next month, finished at even par after a shaky round with five birdies and one double bogey.
“The biggest thing for me is just getting a little bit of a rhythm,” said Berger, who missed golf for three months last fall after breaking his right ring finger on a shot at the BMW Championship in August.
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“Coming back is about getting back into the flow of things and getting back to normal life,” he said.
“Actually, we didn’t play too badly, but we just didn’t get the results,” he added.
The broken finger was just the latest injury setback for Berger. Berger missed 10 months in 2022-2023 with a back problem, and struggled to be consistent when he returned in 2024.
A local Floridian predicted the rest of the week at Orlando’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge would be “incredibly difficult and challenging.”
“You can already see the greens are white, so with a little bit of wind and a little less humidity, it’s going to be like the U.S. Open,” he said.
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“When I come to Bay Hill to participate in this event, I think I know what I’m getting into. So I’m not shocked. I’m ready.”
– “can’t believe it” –
Morikawa, a two-time major champion, ended a two-year title drought with his win at Pebble Beach in February, but he started late and made his way to a round of 6 under par.
He hit a flush with a 7-iron on the par-5 16th and sank a 15-foot eagle putt, then birdied the 17th and 18th and sank a 27-foot putt.
“I finished the day with three 7-irons, three birdies, and I’m going to win,” said Morikawa, who finished runner-up at last year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational despite leading eventual winner Russell Henry by three strokes with five holes remaining.
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Aberg was delighted with his 66 in swirling winds on the notoriously tricky course, calling leader Berger’s 63 “absolutely incredible”.
“I didn’t mean to be too aggressive, I didn’t mean to be too conservative, but it was tricky with the crosswinds and kind of going back and forth,” he said.
“Overall I’m very happy with my score.”
Scheffler ended up regretting “a few mistakes I shouldn’t have made” with a 2-under effort that included three birdies.
“Any score under par is a decent score on this golf course,” the American added. He switched to a new driver this week to improve the accuracy of his tee shots.
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McIlroy found water with his approach iron on the par-4 13th. Forced to drop, he missed the green again and had to settle for double bogey.
It was an eventful round with bogeys on the 5th and 18th.
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