Russell Henley overtakes Collin Morikawa to nab Arnold Palmer title

Russell Henley overtakes Collin Morikawa to nab Arnold Palmer title

Russell Henley eagled the 16th hole Sunday and went on to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Fla.Henley's 2-under-par 70 put him at 11-under 277, giving up hi

Russell Henley eagled the 16th hole Sunday and went on to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Fla.

Henley’s 2-under-par 70 put him at 11-under 277, giving up his first victory since the 2022 World Wide Technology Championship — a span of 854 days. It marks his fifth victory on the PGA Tour and his first at a signature event.

He won by one shot over third-round leader Collin Morikawa, who posted a 71 with a par on the final hole.

The key moment came when Henley’s eagle chip from just off the 16th green found the cup from about 54 1/2 feet away, sending him from one shot back to one in front.

Henley was 2 over for the day through 10 holes Sunday before getting on track. He had birdies on Nos. 12 and 14 before his big move.

Morikawa, a two-time major champion whose last victory was in October 2023, had a card with three birdies and three bogeys Sunday.

Canada’s Corey Conners (71) was third at 9 under and Michael Kim (69) placed fourth at 8 under.

Keegan Bradley (64) tied with Austria’s Sepp Straka (69) for fifth place at 7 under, while Ireland’s Shane Lowry, the leader at the tournament’s midway mark, shot 70 and finished seventh at 6 under.

Bradley made a big early surge, but he was done while the leaders still had about half of the round to complete.

Bradley played the first nine holes at 7-under 29, marking the lowest front-nine score in course history. He eagled the par-5 fifth hole with a pitch from 73 yards away, and followed that with three straight birdies.