Daniel Berger leads by five at the Arnold Palmer Invitational

Daniel Berger took a five-stroke lead Friday into the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida.

Berger’s 63 on Thursday gave him a 4-under 68 to move him to 13 under par, the halfway point of the $20 million signature event. Akshay Bhatia carded a 66 to take sole second place at 8 under par.

Also in striking distance, Sahis Tegalla (67), Colin Morikawa (71), and Sweden’s Ludwig Aberg (71) are tied for 3rd place with 7 under par, and Rickie Fowler (6 under par) is in 6th place after two consecutive scores of 69. Xander Schaufele (71) and defending champion Russell Henry (69) are tied for 5th place at 5 under par.

Berger, the former world No. 12 and 2021 Ryder Cup winner, has not won on the PGA Tour since the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He missed 18 months with a back injury and struggled to regain his form upon his return.

On Friday, he made 5 birdies while limiting himself to 1 bogey. He ranked second this week in strokes gained approaching the green and third in strokes gained putting.

Bhatia poured in seven birdies on Friday and was the closest player to trail him after saving par from a bunker on the difficult par-4 18th.

Rory McIlroy improved by four strokes from the opening round, with the Northern Irishman shooting a 68 to finish tied for ninth at 4 under. Scotty Scheffler (71) is 3 under par.

This is one of the three signature events of the 36-hole cut. Only the top 50 and ties get to spend the weekend. US Open winner JJ Spun (3 overs), Irish player Shane Lowry (3 overs), Australia’s Jason Day (4 overs), Patrick Cantlay (4 overs) and Keegan Bradley (5 overs) are expected to miss the cut with 2 over par.

Justin Thomas shot a 79 for the second straight round in his first start of the season since back surgery in November. He finished last among 72 players at 14 over par.

–Field level media