ORLANDO, FLORIDA | When Russell Henley holed the 3-foot par putt on Bay Hill’s 18th green where so many Sunday fireworks preceded him through the years, sealing a one-stroke victory over Collin Morikawa in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the 35-year-old didn’t crack a smile.
It wasn’t until his wife and three young children embraced him a moment later that Henley fully let go.
“I was just so unbelievably nervous. It’s just so hard, so difficult around this place,” Henley said after finishing at 11-under-par 277, earning his fifth PGA Tour victory and first since 2022. The victory lifted Henley to a career-best No. 7 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Henley’s win seemed unlikely with five holes remaining. Morikawa led him by three, an advantage aided by a pair of par-5 bogeys on the front by Henley.
A two-shot swing at the par-3 14th where Henley made a birdie changed the momentum, and when Henley holed a 54-foot chip shot for an eagle at the par-5 16th, he went from one behind to one ahead.
A pair of pars on the dangerous finishing holes proved to be enough.
“I really felt like I was making a lot of mistakes today. I just tried to hang tough,” Henley said. “This game is so hard. That was unbelievably difficult.”
For Morikawa, it was another in a line of near misses. It was his ninth top-five finish without a victory since 2024, the most on tour. It was also his fourth runner-up finish since winning the 2023 Zozo Championship and his 11th career second-place finish.
“Sometimes golf is just mean like that,” Henley said.
Keegan Bradley threw an early jolt into the final round by shooting 7-under-par 29 on the front nine, playing a four-hole stretch in 5-under par starting with an eagle at the par-5 sixth.
Bradley’s closing 64 pushed him up the leaderboard into a tie for fifth and had him hanging around as the clubhouse leader for a little while after his round in case the leaders came back to him.
“This was really something that I’ll remember forever,” said Bradley, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain. “I’ve been saying all week, I think this is the toughest course we play all year, and to do it on Sunday under these conditions feels good. I can take this with me the rest of the year.”
Three double bogeys in a Saturday 76 cost Bradley a chance at winning an event that would have thrust him into the thick of the Ryder Cup points race.
“Take away those three, I know that’s easy to say, but I could have won this tournament. I played well all week and then today, especially, was really, really solid,” Bradley said.
By virtue of his solo third-place finish, Corey Conners earned a spot in the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in July.
Ron Green Jr.