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March 9, 2026
Akshay Bhatia was five back with nine holes left at Bay Hill. He won in a playoff. If Arnold Palmer was watching from somewhere, he was standing up.
IN THIS ISSUE
Bhatia Was Cooked on the Front Nine. Then He Went Full Arnie.
Rahm Finally Wins Again. It Took 539 Days.
Scheffler Is Still No. 1. But He's Not Running Away with It.
Cobra Bets on Accuracy. McLaren Enters the Chat.
Kings North Reopens, Sea Trail Restoration, and High Point Keeps Winning
PGA TOUR . ARNOULD PALMER INVITATIONAL
Bhatia Was Cooked on the Front Nine. Then He Went Full Arnie.
Akshay Bhatia was five shots behind after a front-nine 38 on Sunday at Bay Hill. He missed a 30-inch par putt on 9 and was furious. His caddie Joe Greiner told him to stay pissed off. He did. What followed was the best back nine at Bay Hill in years: four straight birdies, a near-jarred 6-iron for eagle on 16, and a playoff win over Daniel Berger.
Berger was gutsy. He missed 18 months with a back injury, broke a finger last August, and still nearly went wire-to-wire at Bay Hill. A missed 7-footer in the playoff was the difference. The emotional backdrop: Bhatia dedicated the win to his niece Mia, who passed away three months ago. A rainbow appeared over 18 during the ceremony.
"Just try to hit the best 6-iron of your life." — Caddie Joe Greiner to Bhatia before the near-albatross on 16.
$4 million. 700 FedEx Cup points. Top 20 in the world. He's 24.
LIV GOLF . HONG KONG
Rahm Finally Wins Again. It Took 539 Days.
Jon Rahm shot a final-round 64 to win HSBC LIV Golf Hong Kong by three at 23 under, ending a 26-start winless drought that matched the longest of his career. The reigning two-time LIV individual champion had seven runner-up finishes since his last win in September 2024. He called the feeling "relieving" rather than ecstatic.
Meanwhile, Dustin Johnson's 4Aces claimed their first team win in 975 days, with Anthony Kim, Thomas Pieters, and Thomas Detry all contributing. The CBS Sports Power 18 bumped Rahm down to No. 4 despite the win, with Rory McIlroy leapfrogging him into second. The narrative: Rahm is dominant when he closes, but seven silver medals in his last 26 starts is a pattern.
PGA TOUR . WORLD RANKINGS
Scheffler Is Still No. 1. But He's Not Running Away with It.
Scottie Scheffler shot 73 on Sunday at Bay Hill, including his third double bogey in 19 holes on the 18th. It's his worst finish on Tour since a T-25 at the Phoenix Open over a year ago. He still leads the OWGR by a mile at 16.16 average points, but McIlroy is climbing (8.71) and the No. 112 ranking in first-round scoring average is starting to look like a real trend, not a quirk.
ALSO THIS WEEK
McIlroy Withdraws from Bay Hill with Back Issue — Rory pulled out before the weekend citing back tightness, per Golf Channel, after opening with a 72 that included a double on the 13th.
JT's Rusty Return: 79 at Bay Hill — Justin Thomas shot 79 in his first round back from five months of back surgery rehab, calling the rust "a little bit of what I anticipated."
LIV Burns $100M Monthly, Doubles Down — Saudi Arabia's PIF approved another $267M capital injection into LIV Golf despite ongoing losses, with OWGR recognition still pending.
LOOKING AHEAD
THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass
The Tour heads to TPC Sawgrass for THE PLAYERS Championship, the unofficial fifth major. The island green on 17 will claim its annual quota of ProV1s. Names to watch: Scottie Scheffler (still the man to beat), Akshay Bhatia (riding the Bay Hill momentum), and Xander Schauffele (quietly climbing the FedEx standings).
Cobra OPTM: Accuracy Over Everything
Cobra is betting its 2026 driver line on a concept called Product of Inertia (POI), which measures diagonal clubhead twisting rather than just horizontal and vertical stability. The OPTM lineup ships in four models: LS for low-spin players, X as the versatile pick, MAX-K for maximum forgiveness, and MAX-D for slice fighters. Gary Woodland is averaging 330 yards off the tee with it. The FutureFit33 hosel system with 33 loft/lie settings is legitimately useful for fitters. Price TBD, but Cobra's typically $50-100 under the big two. Demo it before dismissing the marketing language.
McLaren Golf: April 29 Reveal
McLaren announced McLaren Golf, a full equipment venture leveraging its F1 carbon fiber and aerodynamics expertise. Products drop April 29. No details on what's coming, but this isn't a licensing deal on polos. They've hired golf-specific engineers. The question isn't whether they can build something fast. It's whether golfers will trust a brand with zero fitting infrastructure over Titleist and Ping. Worth watching, not worth pre-ordering.
ALSO THIS WEEK
Foresight App Gets a Training Facility Upgrade — Foresight Sports redesigned its app with a new Digital Training Facility featuring structured drills and real ball-flight data for all its launch monitors.
Arccos Smart Laser Adds AI Strategy and Green Maps — The $300 rangefinder now includes AI course strategy and 9,000+ green maps in its annual subscription, essentially putting caddie-level intel in the viewfinder.
Kings North Reopens After Two-Year Arnold Palmer Redesign
Kings North Golf Course on the Grand Strand is back open after a full redesign led by Brandon Johnson, who spent 17 years with Arnold Palmer's design firm. The front nine was finished in 2024, the back nine late 2025. Hole 18 went from 43 bunkers to six. If you're planning a Myrtle Beach trip this spring, this is the course to prioritize. The Palmer DNA is intact, with some modern risk-reward additions that feel fresh.
Sea Trail's Maples Course: New Greens, New Cart Fleet, Way Wider Fairways
Sea Trail Resort in Sunset Beach just reopened the Maples Course after a major restoration. TifEagle Bermuda greens (same surface as the Byrd Course), fairways expanded from 14 to 40 acres, new Club Car carts with GPS, and all cart paths removed in favor of natural waste areas. Check-in is now at the Jones Byrd Clubhouse with a shuttle to the Maples. The Brunswick Islands courses are quietly becoming some of the best-maintained public options within two hours of the Triangle.
High Point Women's Golf Beats NC State
The High Point took down No. 49 NC State by six strokes at Daniel Island Club in Charleston, their second straight tournament win. Anna Howerton shot 6-under for a runner-up individual finish behind NC State's Marie Madsen. Freshman Eva Lye went back-to-back 69s to finish third. Head coach Lyndsey Hunnell just signed a contract extension. This program is building something real.
AIA Triangle Golf Tournament: May 12 at 12 Oaks
The 21st annual AIA Triangle Golf Tournament is set for The Club at 12 Oaks in Holly Springs on May 12. Captain's choice format, $225 per player, proceeds go to architecture scholarships at NC State and Wake Tech. Shotgun start at 10am. Registration is already sold out for singles and foursomes, but keep an eye on their site for cancellation spots.
Bhatia's Wake Forest Connection
One local angle from Bay Hill worth noting: Akshay Bhatia moved to Wake Forest, NC at age 10 and grew up playing Paschal Golf Club, the former home course of Wake Forest College and Arnold Palmer himself. He never played for the Deacons, but winning Palmer's tournament with that backstory? That's a good script.
ALSO THIS WEEK
Eagle Point and Cape Fear CC Make Golf Digest's NC Top 45 — Wilmington's Eagle Point (No. 6) and Cape Fear Country Club (No. 34) both held their spots on Golf Digest's latest NC rankings.
CGA Tournament Season Approaching — The Carolinas Golf Association's spring schedule is filling up with one-day events and four-balls across the state; check the full calendar at Triangle Golf for registration details.
That's your read this week.
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