ORLANDO, Fla. – It would be harsh to say that Daniel Berger lost the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Walking onto the back nine at Bay Hill Club & Lodge, the 32-year-old held a healthy lead over eventual champion Akshay Bhatia.

That changed quickly on the closing nine in Orlando, thanks to a barrage of birdies by Bhatia, four in a row just after the turn, and then the shot of the tournament, which came at the 16th. A sublime eagle for the now three-time PGA TOUR winner shaved Berger’s lead to just one.

Berger made an uncharacteristic three-putt from just off the green at the following hole, and his lead was gone.

With the pair tied playing to the final crescendo that is Bay Hill’s par-4 18th, both Berger and Bhatia were able to scramble their way to pars before heading back for an encore. This time around at the first playoff, Berger was unable to conjure up the same magic.

His wayward drive at the 18th hole again left him only one option: Hack it out and hope to reach the green. He was able to, but the 106-foot putt he was left with heavily favored three strokes over two.

Unable to make par, Bhatia made his own nervy putt to take home the biggest victory of his career.

“Yeah, I mean, I'm proud of myself,” Berger said on the 18th green after losing the playoff. “Obviously, it didn't go the way I wanted it to, but at the start of the week, if you told me I would have a chance on the 18th hole to win Bay Hill, I would be ecstatic with that.

“So a lot of positives, a lot of things to learn from.”

For 60-plus holes, Berger’s name at the top of the leaderboard was a testament to the hard work he’s put in to come back from not one but two serious injuries. Two major setbacks kept him away from the PGA TOUR for much of the last four seasons. A freak shot during last year’s FedExCup Playoffs saw Berger break his right ring finger, and to his surprise, what should have been four to five weeks of no golf turned out to be three months.

Before that, Berger spent almost 18 months away from the game, dealing with lower back problems, which sidelined him for the whole of 2023. Once a top 15 golfer in the world, having won four times on the PGA TOUR, Berger dropped to as low as 658th in the Official World Golf Rankings thanks to the prolonged absence. Over the last two years, though, he’s almost his way back into the top 50 again.

“I think my game is sharp,” Berger said Sunday night. “Clean a few things up here and there. But it's tough to win. It's tough to battle. But I feel like I did a good job, and a shot here or there was the difference.”

In the face of heartbreak at Arnie’s Place, Berger’s finish earns him a tee time at Royal Birkdale at The Open Champion as one of the opportunities The Open Qualifying Series gives to qualify for the oldest major championship.

He may not be thinking of it now, but it's another example of Berger's game and his body returning to what it once was.