Electric Finish at Bay Hill: Akshay Bhatia Earns Win No. 3

Akshay Bhatia delivered one of the most electric Sundays of the PGA Tour season at Bay Hill, draining over 144 feet of putts and storming back to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational in a playoff. Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme break down how Bhatia’s short game carried him to victory on brutally firm, “crispy” greens that had the entire field on edge all week.

The guys also dive into Daniel Berger’s incredible comeback, analyzing the encouraging signs after nearly two years battling injuries and setbacks. Plus, they discuss strong performances from Ludvig Åberg, Cam Young, and Collin Morikawa, what it means heading into THE PLAYERS Championship, and why Bay Hill’s setup produced one of the most entertaining tournaments of the season.

And of course, things get chaotic when Judge Jaxon Brown enters the courtroom to rule on the Rory McIlroy withdrawal in the show’s One-and-Done contest.

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CHAPTERS:
0:00 – Bay Hill delivers
2:06 – Golf season is officially back
3:08 – Bay Hill’s greens
4:14 – Smylie’s “Snap, Crackle, Pop” crispy greens rankings
6:47 – Major championship courses with the craziest greens
10:15 – Akshay Bhatia
21:04 – The clutch putts that saved Bhatia’s round
23:40 – Daniel Berger
29:13 – Bay Hill’s intimidating visuals and pressure moments
31:10 – Scottie Scheffler
34:12 – Cam Young
37:04 – Ludvig Åberg
38:12 – Collin Morikawa
38:48 – The Rory McIlroy One-and-Done controversy
47:36 – Ryder Cup
49:00 – Luke Donald’s leadership and Europe’s continuity
50:30 – Could Tiger Woods captain the U.S.?
55:30 - Jon Rahm
1:10:00 – Closing thoughts and wrap-up