The PGA Tour’s third signature event of the season is headed toward an exciting finish at one of the most challenging golf courses on the circuit.
There are three days in the books at the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational, but not quite three rounds. A weather delay on Saturday afternoon will force four players to finish their third round on Sunday before the final round can commence at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida. The leaderboard is chock-full of big names and rising stars all vying for a win at Arnie’s place and the $4 million check that comes with it.
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Here are the biggest storylines you need to know heading into the final day of play at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Here’s why Sunday matters:
The weather: Rain rain go away
Ludvig Aberg of Sweden plays his shot from the 14th tee during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard 2026 at Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Golf Course on March 07, 2026 in Orlando, Florida.
As is typical on the PGA Tour’s Florida Swing, every event is at the mercy of Mother Nature, who made her presence felt on Saturday when a brief round of strong thunderstorms hit Bay Hill, forcing a 1 hour and 7 minute stoppage in play. Members of the grounds crew were seen using squeegees to remove standing water from the greens and fairways before play resumed. The delay caused another suspension Saturday night due to darkness, with four players still needing to finish their third round Sunday morning.
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Although not as likely, the same thing could happen again Sunday, as the forecast calls for hot and humid weather with a 55 percent chance of precipitation. Meteorologists expect a round of thunderstorms could move through the Orlando area in the late afternoon hours.
The leaderboard
Here’s what the top of the leaderboard looked like when play was suspended due to darkness Saturday night:
|
Position |
Player |
Score |
Thru |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Daniel Berger |
-13 |
15 |
|
2 |
Akshay Bhatia |
-11 |
16 |
|
T3 |
Sepp Straka |
-9 |
F |
|
T3 |
Cameron Young |
-9 |
F |
|
T3 |
Collin Morikawa |
-9 |
F |
|
6 |
Min Woo Lee |
-8 |
F |
|
T7 |
Chris Gotterup |
-7 |
F |
|
T7 |
Ludvig Aberg |
-7 |
16 |
The frontrunner: Daniel Berger
The Arnold Palmer Invitational is Daniel Berger’s to lose. He was the solo leader after each of the first two days and remains in that position after the third. On Saturday, Berger saw his lead shrink from five shots to two, but he’s still in the driver’s seat with 21 holes to play. Berger was only able to finish 15 holes on Saturday, and he’s even par in the third round thus far.
Daniel Berger of the United States after putting on the 14th green during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard 2026 at Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Golf Course on March 07, 2026 in Orlando, Florida.
It’s been more than five years since Berger tasted victory on the PGA Tour, with his last win coming at the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He’s dealt with several injuries that have derailed his efforts over the past few seasons, but now he’s back and seemingly as good as ever. He finds himself on the doorstep of a storybook comeback and a fourth career victory on Tour if he can get the job done on Sunday.
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“I would think that life is, you know, you can’t control what happens,” Berger said Friday. “You just do your best and things happen and I wouldn’t trade what I’ve gone through over this time for another win or whatever. I think your path is your path, and I’m here today because of what I went through over the last couple years. So I just do my best to be the best golfer that I can be, and whatever happens, happens.
The challengers: Akshay Bhatia, Sepp Straka, Cam Young, Collin Morikawa
Two late birdies helped Akshay Bhatia separate himself from the pack of players who were hanging around the 7-to-8-under range for much of the day on Saturday. Bhatia still has two holes left in his third round, but as it stands Saturday night, he’s 11 under for the tournament and has closed the gap to just two shots between himself and Berger.
Akshay Bhatia of the United States reacts on the ninth hole during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard 2026 at Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Golf Course on March 07, 2026 in Orlando, Florida.
Bhatia has managed to overcome what has been a lackluster week off the tee with incredible short game. He leads the field both Strokes Gained: Putting and Strokes Gained: Around the Green.
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“For how poorly statistically my driving has been, to be up there around the lead is really amazing to me,” Bhatia said. “I just got to keep doing what I’m doing and hitting the right shots. It’s an uncomfortable golf course, as I’ve said, and it’s not going to get any easier. I just got to keep doing what I’m doing.”
Two shots behind Bhatia is a group of three players who finished the day at 9 under, and they’re all proven winners. Collin Morikawa is one of them. He’s seeking his second victory of the season, having already won the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Morikawa started the week hot with a 66 on Thursday and has remained steady since then, turning in rounds of 71 and 70 on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Collin Morikawa of the United States putts on the ninth green during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard 2026 at Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Golf Course on March 07, 2026 in Orlando, Florida.
On the flip side, there’s Sepp Straka, who got off to a pedestrian start to the week but turned it up Saturday and made the most of Moving Day, firing a 6-under 66 to vault himself 12 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for third.
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“I was playing really well,” Straka said. “When I first got out there, didn’t really feel quite as good on the range warming up again. It didn’t feel quite as sharp, I would say, as it did the first nine or 10 holes. After a few swings, kind of got back in the rhythm of things. Hit some really good shots coming down the stretch.”
More: Cameron Young’s Bay Hill connection runs deep at Arnold Palmer Invitational
The third man in that tie for third is Cameron Young, who is beginning to emerge as a star on the PGA Tour. He broke into the winer’s circle for the first time late last summer with a victory at the Wyndham Championship. The first few events of the 2026 season didn’t go the way Young wanted, but a T-7 in his last outing at the Genesis Invitational signaled that his game was rounding into form. That was on display Saturday at Bay Hill, where he turned in a round of 5-under 67 for the second time this week.
The reasonable longshot: Russell Henley
Russell Henley of the United States plays his shot from the 15th tee during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard 2026 at Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Golf Course on March 07, 2026 in Orlando, Florida.
Russell Henley will head into Sunday needing a low score to put some pressure on the guys at the top, but he’s shown that he’s capable of doing that at Bay Hill. Henley is the defending champion at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, having won the 2025 rendition.
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His game hasn’t been flashy this week, but it sure has been steady. The 36-year-old from Georgia made a birdie on the opening hole before rattling off 17 straight pars en route to a 1-under 71 on Saturday. He’ll need a lot more birdies than that if he wants to contend on Sunday, but eluding bogeys is always a positive sign. Could we see the defending champ storm back? There’s certainly a chance.
The hole to watch: No. 6
A general view of the sixth hole green during the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard 2025 at Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Golf Course on March 07, 2025 in Orlando, Florida.
The sixth hole at Bay Hill is one of the most exciting and nerve-wracking par 5s on the PGA Tour. It’s not terribly long, measuring around 550 yards, but any miss to the left of the fairway will, without a doubt, be wet. Players are faced with a choice on the tee: Play it safe and avoid the water at all costs, or cut off a good portion of the water and set themselves up to reach the green in two shots.
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This year, No. 6 has actually played as the fourth-easiest hole on the golf course, yielding 65 birdies to just 15 bogeys through three rounds. But there’s also the opportunity for some big numbers at the sixth, as there have been seven scores of double bogey or worse there this week. When the pressure ramps up on Sunday, that tee shot gets harder and harder for even the best players in the world. Don’t be surprised if the sixth provides some major momentum swings in Sunday’s final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The course: Bay Hill is ‘firm and fast’
Hideki Matsuyama of Japan reacts after missing a putt on the first hole during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard 2026 at Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Golf Course on March 07, 2026 in Orlando, Florida.
“Firm and fast.” That’s how they like it at Bay Hill. Well, the tournament organizers, that is. The players? Eh, maybe not.
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Bay Hill is considered one of the more challenging annual stops on the PGA Tour and it’s lived up to the billing yet again this year. The greens were described by Jordan Spieth as having “zero friction.” “Crispy,” “baked-out,” “browned,” and “slick” were some of the other word choices from players. That’s music to the ears of most golf fans who get tired of watching birdie-fests. The Arnold Palmer Invitational prides itself on being the opposite of a birdie-fest. Just ask Sam Saunders, a former Tour pro and the grandson of the King, Arnold Palmer, the namesake of this week’s event.
“We get the course running firm and fast, which has become the identity of Bay Hill, and there’s nothing that identifies the best player at the highest level better than firm and fast conditions,” Saunders told Golfweek’s Adam Schupak. “It means you have to drive the ball in the fairway, you have to hit greens with good iron shots and your short game better be sharp if you get out of position. When the course is soft, it can become a putting contest and I never think of Bay Hill that way. It’s a course that tests all parts of your game.”
The host: Arnold Palmer’s legacy lives on
Arnold Palmer waves to fans during the Champion Golfers’ Challenge on The Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland, on July 15, 2015, ahead of The 2015 Open Golf Championship.
Arnold Palmer passed away nearly a decade ago, but his legacy is stronger than ever at his eponymous event as many of the world’s best players gather at the house that Arnie built.
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One of those players is Rickie Fowler, who has been wearing Palmer-themed apparel all week on the golf course. When asked where this ranks among tournaments Fowler most wants to win, he said, “This would be very high on the list. It would be a lot more special being able to get that red sweater from Arnie himself. But, no, this has always been one of my favorite events. I think I missed it last year and missed it once before. I won a junior event back here in the day, an AJGA event. We’ve had chances and played well here before. But, yeah, this is a special one, especially with, one, the field, but the golf course, the test, it’s a grind and the guys that win here and have success here, you can’t fake it around this place, you have to earn it.”
Some sported “Arnie’s Army” jackets at the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler echoed that sentiment in his pre-touranment press conference on Wednesday:
“Obviously with Mr. Palmer’s legacy and the way the golf course is, it’s very challenging, and so it’s always a fun test I think for us as players. It’s good to be back, for sure… When you look at a tournament like this, you think about Mr. Palmer’s legacy, not only what he went meant to the game, but all the things he did in his community here and in Pennsylvania as well, and also what they did for the game of golf. So there’s always some special meaning with those.”
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This article originally appeared on Golfweek: PGA Tour: Why you need to see Arnold Palmer Invitational finale
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