ORLANDO, Fla. — The sun was dropping behind the tall pines that frame Bay Hill when the final act of another Arnold Palmer Invitational finally played itself out Sunday afternoon, and as always, it felt less like a golf tournament and more like theater.

That’s what this place does.

Every March, the best players in the world arrive at Bay Hill Club & Lodge knowing exactly what awaits them: thick rough, slick greens, swirling winds and a golf course that has a nasty habit of turning triumph into heartbreak in the span of a single swing. It is demanding, dramatic and occasionally cruel, and that’s exactly how Arnie liked it.

And once again on Sunday, Bay Hill delivered a finale worthy of The King himself with Akshay Bhatia pulling off an Arnie-like charge, rallying from five shots down on the back nine and passing Daniel Berger to win the tournament’s first sudden-death playoff since 1999.

What a day.

What a finish.

What a tournament.

The final chapter began with Berger holding a one-shot lead over Bhatia when the final round began, Berger had started the week looking like a man on a mission, building a commanding lead over the first two days and flirting with the rare possibility of a wire-to-wire victory at Palmer’s place.

But Bay Hill, as we have learned time and time again, does not make anything easy.

Berger began the day at 13 under par with Bhatia just behind him at 12 under after finishing his third round with consecutive birdies on holes 15 and 16 Saturday evening. What followed over the next several hours was the kind of Sunday that has become synonymous with The Arnie: a final round filled with momentum swings, daring shots and just enough chaos to keep everyone guessing until the final putt dropped on the 18th green.

At one point during the final round, it looked as though Berger might run away with the tournament after Bhatia hit the ball in the water on No. 6 for a bogey and then missed 2 1/2 foot putt on No. 9 for another bogey. He trailed Berger by five shots at that point, and looked like the wheels were coming off his game. But Bhatia steadied himself and reeled off four straight birdies and then pulled within a stroke with a dramatic eagle on No. 16.

The final holes of the tournament were a showdown. Berger finally lost the lead for the first time since the tournament started when he bogeyed No. 17 to fall into a tie with the charging Bhatia. That’s when you could hear the wave of excitement through the massive galleries surrounding Bay Hill’s closing holes.

The theater built into the final hole of regulation when Bhatia nearly hit his approach shot into the rocks bordering the greenside water hazard, but got a lucky break when the ball stayed on the fringe of the green, allowing him to par. Berger, after hitting his tee shot into the deep rough, then brought the crowd to its feet when he sank a 14-foot- putt to send the tournament into sudden-death.

In the end, after Berger bogeyed the first hole of the playoff, it was Bhatia, the slender lefty, who emerged from the chaos with his signature victory. And just like that, another unforgettable Sunday at Bay Hill entered the tournament’s rich history.

If you were standing anywhere around the property Sunday afternoon, the scene looked exactly like what Arnold Palmer always envisioned when he turned Bay Hill into his home all those years ago.

Orlando, quite frankly, hit the jackpot when Palmer decided to settle here.

When Palmer bought Bay Hill in the 1970s, he didn’t just build a golf course or host a tournament. He created an institution. Over the decades, The Arnie has grown into one of the premier stops on the PGA Tour; where the world’s best players circle the date on their calendars.

In fact, there was a time not too long ago when Jordan Spieth was the hottest player in golf when he didn’t even have room for this tournament on his schedule.

Now, Spieth essentially had to beg his way in this year’s Arnie .

That tells you everything you need to know about the stature of this event.

The Arnie is no longer simply another stop on the Tour. It’s one of the most coveted invitations in golf.

But the magic of this tournament extends far beyond the leaderboard. For Orlando, this has become the city’s premier sporting event; the one weekend every year when golf fans pour into Bay Hill to soak up the sunshine, stroll the fairways and watch the world’s best players.

From early morning until sunset, the property buzzes with energy. Grandstands packed with spectators ring the closing holes. Fans line the fairways several rows deep. Every hillside becomes a natural amphitheater.

Meanwhile, the hospitality tents are filled with well-heeled guests sipping top-shelf liquor, sampling gourmet cuisine and enjoying front-row seats to the action. Corporate executives mingle with each other. Tour players’ families stroll through the crowds. Everywhere you look, someone is sipping an ice-cold beer, basking in the sunny honey of a Sunday afternoon in the City Beautiful.

The Arnie is more than just a golf tournament.

It’s a social event.

It’s a spring ritual.

It’s a party.

For one weekend every year, Bay Hill becomes the place to be in Central Florida.

You can almost imagine Arnie himself looking down from somewhere above the 18th green Sunday afternoon, giving his familiar thumbs-up as another fantastic finish unfolded on the course he loved so dearly.

“I know he (Palmer) was up there watching and probably pretty proud of how this tournament unfolded,” Bhatia said. “And it felt like the fans were with me. It felt like I had my own Arnie’s Army out there today. I could feel the energy and the buzz.”

Palmer always believed that golf should be exciting, unpredictable and entertaining.

And year after year, that’s exactly what happens here.

Another Sunday.

Another thriller.

Another champion crowned at Bay Hill.

Just the way The King would have wanted it.

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