ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL

March 5, 2026

Daniel Berger

Bay Hill Club and Lodge

Quick Quotes

Q. I hate to say it, that it might sound too simple, but just being in Florida is a big boost for you?

DANIEL BERGER: It definitely makes it easier. I get to drive my own car up here, slept in my own bed last week. 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.

Q. I heard you say that this might be one of the top-3 rounds you've ever played on the PGA TOUR. What made this one so good, and then what would you compare it to?

DANIEL BERGER: If I had to compare it would probably be the 2018 U.S. Open. I shot, I don't know, 3-, 4-under at Shinnecock on Saturday and went from 60th to tied for the lead. So it has that U.S. Open kind of feel to it. I think the course is just going to get tougher as the week goes on. The greens are going to get firmer. As you can see on 18, there's a little bit of reception when you're hitting a wedge in there, and I just, I don't think that's going to last. So, yeah, just hit it in the fairway and try to make as many putts as you can.

Q. The west to east thing, does it help too when you've had one Florida event under your belt after spending all that time out west and kind of get you a little bit more prepared for the next Florida event?

DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, I think the biggest thing for me is just getting in a bit of a rhythm. I missed all of the fall. I broke my finger at the BMW, so I took basically four months off. Then when you come back you're just kind of getting back into the flow of things and getting into your routine. And kind of, I've really played not really that poorly, and just haven't had the results. So you just kind of keep doing the same things and good things will come. So that's kind of where I feel like I'm at.

Q. What finger did you break and how did you do it?

DANIEL BERGER: It was the right, whatever that finger is. Ring finger? It was one shot at the BMW. It was like the 14th hole. I played the last four holes with a broken finger and I was like, maybe it will feel better tomorrow and it did not.

Q. Swinging what club?

DANIEL BERGER: It was like a 7-iron. I don't know.

Q. Like a root?

DANIEL BERGER: I don't know what happened. But it was definitely broken.

Q. How long did you go without swinging a club?

DANIEL BERGER: That was two and a half, three months. I was in a splint for two months and then yeah 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. I thought it would be just like four, five weeks and it turned out to be three months. So just the way it goes, I guess.

Q. Is it in a place where the club impacts your finger?

DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, I definitely think about it. Like if I'm having a similar style shot to the shot that I did it on or if there's a root, my caddie is the first one to say, you know, we're not taking this on. I don't really think about it, like in terms of I'm going to hurt myself now. But there's definitely situations where the last month or two where I've been like, all right, let's just pitch this one back in the fairway and keep going.

Q. That being said, you've had, I don't know, a three, four year stretch whatever it's been with the injuries, and obviously the other was more serious. How do you take that on mentally? You recover from one and say, I'm done with it, and then --

DANIEL BERGER: I mean, it's hard. You got to live your life. You got to do things that you enjoy. I enjoy playing tennis, I enjoy going on the boat, doing things. You can't live in a bubble and try to protect yourself so much. Things are going to happen in life, so you just kind of roll with it and deal with it. Unfortunately, it just felt like they kind of stacked up a bunch in a row. But, you know, it's life. It is what it is.

Q. You say you don't think about it except maybe when there's a root in the way or similar type shot. But at what point in coming back did you stop thinking about it? Were you able to do that before the season started, did it come on the West Coast?

DANIEL BERGER: No, the nature of the injury is it can take up to a year to feel normal, from what the doctors tell me. So it's been basically six months. I could go three months where it doesn't bother me, like I had at the beginning of the year. And then I hit one shot in Phoenix where I stuck it in the ground and I thought I broke it again. Luckily it was a week where it felt bad and then it was back to being okay. So it doesn't bother me. I don't think about it. I don't hit a shot and go, ooh, I could hurt my finger here. But it's just part of the recovery process.

Q. Did you feel a round like this coming?

DANIEL BERGER: I've been playing well. It's like one shot here, one shot there that kind of doesn't go your way. And even last week I played pretty well and just didn't quite score the way I wanted to. Really it's just freeing it up and enjoying it. Coming out here and just doing what you love to do and not thinking about the results and just sticking to the process that you know works for yourself.

Q. What made you switch to left hand low?

DANIEL BERGER: I've been doing that for about six months. Started working with a new putting coach and conventional wasn't working, so switched it up.

Q. What coach?

DANIEL BERGER: Phil Kenyon.

Q. The putting before the back injury you were regularly above average on the greens. Since coming back been a little shakier. Wondering what you've seen since coming back.

DANIEL BERGER: I think any time you take an extended period of time off it's just difficult. Players get better and you're sitting on the sidelines and you have to ramp yourself back up and get back into those competitive environments. So that took me a little bit of time.

Then I spent some time working on some technical stuff which, like a swing change, a putting change is the same thing, you have to do it enough times repetitively to feel confident. So that was part of the process. Like I said, I've had good putting weeks, it's just been putting it together for four days consistently. So, yeah, it's really nothing different than I've been doing.

Q. Not that there's a bunch of wire-to-wire winners here, but how important was it to get a really good round now before things start to get tougher and tougher on that course?

DANIEL BERGER: Yeah, listen, it's going to be an incredibly difficult and challenging week. You can already see the course is -- 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.

Q. What did you change on your putting, working with Phil Kenyon?

DANIEL BERGER: What have I done differently? A lot of things. Too much to go into detail.