Winners and Losers from the 2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill

This year's Arnold Palmer Invitational ended up looking a lot like last year's: with Matt Every shaking tournament host Arnold Palmer's hand. 

A competition that began with seemingly everyone asking "How will Rory McIlroy play?" looked like it was going to be a Morgan Hoffmann romp after the golfer opened with rounds of 66 and 65. When Hoffmann faltered late, it seemed Henrik Stenson had things well in hand.

He didn't. Every poured in a lengthy down-the-hill putt at the final hole to seize a one-stroke advantage and ultimately a one-stroke victory at 19 under par. 

Click through for the full rundown of this week's winners and losers. 

Winner: Matt Every

Nobody was paying much attention to reigning Arnold Palmer Invitational champion Matt Every as things got underway Sunday. Every, who won the tournament from four strokes back last year, entered the final round three strokes behind Henrik Stenson. 

The Florida native carded seven birdies against just one bogey in a stellar final round. 

The last of those, a 20-foot birdie at the 18th hole, put the finishing touches on a final-round 66 that earned him his second title at Bay Hill in as many years. 

Loser: Morgan Hoffmann

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Twenty-five-year-old New Jersey native Morgan Hoffmann grabbed his first lead at a PGA Tour event at the end of Thursday's first round. 

He raced to the head of the pack with an opening six-under 66 that included 12 of 14 fairways hit and 14 of 18 greens in regulation. 

The Jupiter, Florida, resident was even better on Friday, when he poured in six consecutive birdies en route to a second-round 65. 

He treaded water Saturday but suffered a late-Sunday meltdown. After seizing the lead at the turn, Hoffmann was three over on his final nine, adding insult to injury with a sloppy double bogey at the 72nd hole of the competition. 

He finished a disappointing fourth behind Every, Stenson and Matt Jones. 

Winner: The King

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

If you needed any reminder that, at age 85, Arnold Palmer is still The King, take note of a few recent events. 

In his traditional pre-tournament press conference, Palmer was asked about a reported hourlong phone call he had with Tiger Woods when the golfer told Palmer he wasn't going to be playing this year. 

Golf Channel's Jay Coffin tweeted:

"

Arnie brings down house with zinger when asked about long phone convo w/ Tiger. "Who ever told you it was an hour is full of sh--."#classic

"

After he's finished holding court at Bay Hill, Mr. Palmer will make his traditional trip to Augusta National to hit the ceremonial opening tee shot. And he'll do it with a separated shoulder against doctor's orders. 

Long live The King. 

Loser: Rory McIlroy

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Rory McIlroy didn't really have a chance. Even though he didn't play terrible golf this week, anything less than victory at Bay Hill was going to invite criticism and questioning. 

The Ulsterman finished tied for 11th in his maiden Arnold Palmer Invitational campaign. 

Still, McIlroy wasn't deeply unhappy with his play this week. After his round, the golfer told Steve Sands of NBC: "I got...a lot out of this week. It gave me what I need. I've taken some strides in the right direction."

Except for stretch of five birdies in a row during his second round, it was a week of "one step forward, one step back" in terms of birdies and bogeys. And while that beats "one step forward, two steps back," it's a recipe for even-par golf over the long run. And even-par golf doesn't win many tournaments. 

McIlroy finished inside the top 15 in greens in regulation for the week. However, his putting wasn't up to snuff on Bay Hill's beleaguered greens, as he barely finished inside the top 50 in strokes gained through putting. 

He will also want to tighten up his short iron play before he puts a peg in the ground at Augusta. If he misses his spots on approach shots there in two weeks, he won't be completing the career Grand Slam. 

Winner: The Albatross

During the third round, Daniel Berger made a two on the par-five sixth hole. Berger's albatross was the first in the history of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

It didn't take long for the API to see its second. 

During Sunday's final round, Zach Johnson holed out from 205 yards on the 16th hole. 

Regarding the shot that led to the rarest of golf fowl, Johnson said, according to Brian Wacker of PGATour.com, "It was five to eight yards left of my target. I'm trying to use the bank and let it go down in there, right of the pin. I hit it good." 

And a bonus: Tournament host Arnold Palmer saw the whole thing. 

Loser: Henrik Stenson's Sunday Putting

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The only thing that kept Henrik Stenson from winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational was the Swedish golfer's final-round putting.

Stenson lost 2.8 strokes to the field on the greens Sunday, as he couldn't seem to get a putt to fall during the final round. He didn't make a putt of any significant distance and would have needed just one birdie down the stretch to force a playoff with Matt Every. 

Instead, Stenson failed to make a birdie over his final six holes, even parring the glorified par four that was the par-five 16th hole. 

At 18 under for the week, he finished solo second but should have been the one shaking The King's hand. 

Winner: Sean O'Hair

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Perhaps it wasn't fair to peg Sean O'Hair a loser after his playoff defeat and last week's second-place finish at the Valspar Championship. 

We'll make amends here. With another strong showing this week, the recently resurgent O'Hair is a winner in this edition of Winners and Losers. 

O'Hair opened the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a three-under 69. The Texas native followed up with tidy rounds of 68 and 68 to earn a top-30 finish, despite a sloppy Sunday 76. 

The once-lost-in-the-wilderness O'Hair seems to have found himself. 

Welcome back. 

Loser: Nearly Ernie Els

Ernie Els found himself in a spot of trouble at Bay Hill. 

A Reuters report indicated, "Television showed Els touching his wedge in long grass in a hazard at the par-five sixth hole during the third round at Bay Hill in Florida."

Uh-oh. 

After further review, however, a tour rules official determined that there was not enough video evidence that Els had in fact grounded his club in the hazard, which would have resulted in a two-stroke penalty. 

The South African didn't get away unscathed, however, as he needed to sink a 40-foot putt to save triple bogey on the hole. 

All stats via PGATour.com