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 decent showing at the Cognizant Classic last week, he’s off to another (even better) start this week, as he lit up Bay Hill Club & Lodge for a nine-under 63 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Thursday, good for a three-shot lead after Day 1.
The secret for the Florida kid and Florida resident? Easy.
“I get to drive my own car up here, slept in my own bed last week,” said Berger, who lives two hours down the road in the Jupiter, Fla., area. “This is a place I played many times. There’s many years in the past where I’ve skipped a couple of those West Coast Swing events, and this year being in the elevated events you don’t have that opportunity. So yeah, it’s just nice to be in Florida. I love it.”
He also loves the fact he’s injury-free.
Berger injured his right ring finger at the BMW Championship in August (on one swing on the 14th hole, though he’s unsure exactly what happened) and thought it would get better on its own. It did not — not that day, nor the next. He withdrew, and the broken finger was in a splint 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 that I broke and where I broke it actually ended up being more of a pain in the butt than I thought it was going to be,” he said Thursday. “I thought it would be just like four, five weeks and it turned out to be three months.”
It was an unfortunate way to end what had been a strong bounce-back season. After missing all of 2023 with a back injury, Berger struggled to find his form when he got back on the course and finished 140th in the FedEx Cup standings in 2024. Last year, it started to come together, as he made 18 of 22 cuts and had strong showings at the WM Phoenix Open (T2) and RBC Heritage (T3) to finish inside the top 70 and retain his 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 kind of getting back into the flow of things and getting into your routine,” he said. “I’ve played not really that poorly, just haven’t had the results. So you just kind of keep doing the same things and good things will come.”
On Thursday, Berger never made a bogey and was six under on the back nine. His 63 was also just one shy of the tournament record, which has been recorded four times. He led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (5.088) and was second in putting (3.718).
He begins his second round at 11:55 a.m. ET on Friday alongside Alex Noren. He knows he still has 54 holes left though.
“It’s going to be an incredibly difficult and challenging week,” he said. “The greens are like white. So a little bit of wind, a little bit less moisture, and it’s just going to be like a U.S. Open. I think when you come to Bay Hill to play this event you know what you’re getting, and so it doesn’t shock me. You’re ready for it.”
