Seeking his first Tour win in five years, Daniel Berger jumped out to the first-round lead at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday.
Berger, who lives in Jupiter, made the most of his early start time at the Arnold Palmer Invitational by shooting a 9-under 63. He’s the first-round leader by three strokes entering Friday’s second round.
“I get to drive my own car up here, slept in my own bed last week,” Berger told reporters after his first 18 holes. “This is a place I played many times. There’s many years in the past where I’ve skipped a couple of those West Coast swing events, and this year being in the elevated events you don’t have that opportunity. So yeah, it’s just nice to be in Florida. I love it.”
Berger leads Collin Morikawa and Ludvig Åberg, who posted 6-under 66s, Morikawa going off in the morning and Åberg posting the afternoon’s lowest number.
Morikawa, who is looking to win his second signature event of 2026, tied his career-best, three-hole score in a round. He finished at Bay Hill with an eagle on 16 followed by a pair of birdies.
Cameron Young and Jhonattan Vegas are also looking up at Berger, tied for third after shooting 67.
“It’s going to be an incredibly difficult and challenging week. You can already see the course is,” Berger said. “The greens are like white. So a little bit of wind, a little bit less moisture, and it’s just going to be like a U.S. Open. I think when you come to Bay Hill to play this event you know what you’re getting, and so it doesn’t shock me. You’re ready for it.”
Last week’s Cognizant Classic champ, Nico Echavarria, looked poised to challenge Berger’s 63, recording six birdies on his front nine.
That was short lived, though, as Echavarria was undone by a pair of bogeys and a triple bogey to open his back nine. He finished even for the round, a 30 on the front and a 42 on the back.
Like Echavarria, everyone in the field is looking up at Berger after 18 holes. The four-time PGA Tour winner’s 63 is the lowest round at Bay Hill since Adam Scott’s 62 a dozen years ago.
Since his last win at the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Berger has endured a litany of different injuries. Most recently, he broke his finger at last year’s BMW Championship and missed the entire fall.
“I took basically four months off,” Berger said about breaking his right ring finger. “When you come back you’re just kind of getting back into the flow of things and getting into your routine. And kind of, I’ve really played not really that poorly, and just haven’t had the results. So you just kind of keep doing the same things and good things will come. So that’s kind of where I feel like I’m at.”
For Berger, he felt something turn at the Cognizant at PGA National last week.
“Last week I played pretty well and just didn’t quite score the way I wanted to,” he added. “Really it’s just freeing it up and enjoying it. Coming out here and just doing what you love to do and not thinking about the results and just sticking to the process that you know works for yourself.”
Scheffler cleans up first-round act
Scottie Scheffler had shot over par in the first round of his last three tournaments but put a halt to that trend on Thursday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The world’s No. 1-ranked player finished with a 2-under 70 and sits T-18. Oddsmakers at DraftKings sportsbook put Scheffler (+590 to win) slightly behind Berger (+540), with 70 other players trailing. That’s all despite the two-time API winner being seven strokes off the lead.
If you’ve been paying attention in 2026, Scheffler has been dominant after the first 18 holes. The slow starts at TPC Scottsdale, Pebble Beach and Riviera have all been equalized by phenomenal play on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
As a result, Scheffler has finished no worse than T-12 over those last three tournaments even though he put himself at a major disadvantage. He’s paired with defending API champ Russell Henley again on Friday. Henley also sits T-18 and seven strokes back of Berger after Round 1.
“I felt like I made a couple mistakes that I shouldn’t have, but overall I did some really good stuff out there,” Scheffler said. “Anything under par on this golf course is a decent score.”
McIlory commits costly mistake on 13
Rory McIlroy made his path toward Bay Hill victory more difficult with a double bogey on the 13th hole on Thursday.
He was in cruise control at 3 under par until that moment, and wound up at even and T-33 at the end of his first round.
McIlroy’s back nine also featured a bogey on Nos. 14 and 18, offsetting a quintet of birdies.
The world No. 2 is coming off a T-2 at Riviera where he almost chased down Genesis champ Jacob Bridgeman on Sunday.