For Daniel Berger, it’s just good to be home.
Last year during the Florida Swing, Berger finished T25, T15 and T20 in his three starts in The Sunshine State. And after tying for 32nd in a good performance at A well-known classic Last week, he’s off to another (even better) start this week, after firing up the Bay Hill Club & Lodge for a one-under 63 in Arnold Palmer’s Invitational on Thursday, good for a three-shot lead after Day 1.
The secret to the kid and Florida resident? Easy.
“I can drive my car up here, I slept in my bed last week,” said Berger, who lives two hours down the road in the Jupiter, Florida, area. “This is a place I’ve played a lot of times. There’s been years in the past where I’ve missed some of those West Coast Swing events, and this year being in the top events you don’t get that opportunity. So yeah, it’s just nice to be in Florida. I love it.”
He also likes the fact that he is injury free.
Berger hurt his right ring finger at the BMW Championship in August (on a swing at the 14th hole, though he’s not sure what exactly happened) and thought it would get better on its own. It didn’t happen – not that day, not the next. He withdrew and the broken finger was in a cast for two months. He went nearly three months without swinging a club and didn’t return until the RSM Classic in late November, where he tied for 51st.
“Just one of those things, like the finger I broke and where I broke it, actually ended up being more of a pain in the butt than I thought it would be,” he said Thursday. “I thought it would only be four, five weeks and it turned out to be three months.”
It was an unfortunate way to end what had been a strong comeback season. After missing all of 2023 with a back injury, Berger struggled to find his form when he returned to the course and finished 140th in the FedEx Cup standings in 2024. Last year, he started to come together as he made 18 of 22 cuts and had strong showings at the WM Phoenix Open (T2) and at the top of the Heritage (T2) and at the top of his (TBC) PGA Tour Card.
He opened 2026 with a T6 in Hawaii and has missed just one cut, at the Genesis Invitational, so far this season.
“When you come back, you’re just getting back into the flow of things and getting into your routine,” he said. “I haven’t been playing too bad, I’ve just been underachieving. So you just keep doing the same things and good things will come.”
On Thursday, Berger never made a bogey and was six-under. His 63 was also just one shy of the tournament record, which has been set four times. He led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (5,088) and was second in strokes gained (3,718).
He begins his second round at 11:55 a.m. ET Friday alongside Alex Noren. However, he knows he still has 54 holes.
“It will be an incredibly difficult and challenging week,” he said. “The greens are like white. So a little wind, a little less moisture, and it’ll just be like a US Open. I think when you come to Bay Hill to play this event, you know what you’re getting, so it doesn’t shock me. You’re ready for it.”
