Daniel Berger has been through a lot over the past few years. Sunday at Bay Hillhe can scored a career-changing victory.
Berger, who was once ranked No. 12 in the Official World Golf Ranking, has battled a slew of injuries since the 2021 Ryder Cup. He missed 19 months dealing with a bulging disc problem in his back that took time to properly diagnose. When he returned to the PGA Tour, he found his form had surprisingly slipped. He returned to the top 100 in the world and then broke his finger at last year’s BMW Championship.
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A Sunday marathon awaits the leaders. It will be very different for followers
Michael Bamberger
After years of injuries and bad luck, Berger enters Sunday’s Arnold Palmer Invitational with a one-stroke lead over Akshay Bhatia. That’s three more than Cameron Young, Sepp Straka and Collin Morikawa.
It’s been five years since Berger’s last win at the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Five years is a long time. But in 18 holes on Sunday, Berger can wash all that away. He can punch his ticket to the Masters and secure a victory that would be hard to put into words.
“I would think that life is, you know, you can’t control what happens,” Berger said of the past five years. “You know, you just do your best and things happen, and I wouldn’t trade what I’ve been through this time for another win or whatever. I think your path is your path and I’m here today because of what I’ve been through the last two years. So I just try my best to be the best golfer I can be, and whatever happens, happens.”
A win would also come with a $4 million winner’s check as part of the $20 million purse this week at Bay Hill.
You can view the entire payout breakdown below:
Arnold Palmer Invitational Money: Total Purse, Payout Split
First: $4 million
Second: $2.2 million
Third: $1.4 million
4: $1 million
Fifth: $840,000
6th: $760,000
7: $700,000
8: $646,000
9th: $600,000
10th: $556,000
11: $514,000
12: $472,000
13: $430,000
14: $389,000
15: $369,000
16: $349,000
17: $329,000
18: $309,000
19: $289,000
20: $269,000
21: $250,000
22: $233,000
23: $216,000
24: $200,000
25: $184,000
26: $168,000
27: $161,000
28: $154,000
29: $147,000
30th: $140,000
31: $133,000
32: $126,000
33: $119,000
34: $114,000
35: $109,000
36: $104,000
37: $99,000
38: $94,000
39: $90,000
40th: $86,000
41: $82,000
42: $78,000
43: $74,000
44: $70,000
45: $66,000
46: $62,000
47: $58,000
48: $56,000
49: $54,000
50th: $52,000
