22 year old, Akshay Bhatia, entered his first ever Masters Tournament this week coming off his win at the Valero Texas Open. The last time Bhatia was playing at Augusta was at 12 years old where he was a finalist in the 2014 Drive, Chip, and Putt competition, currently being the only D,C,P finalist to make it to the Masters Tournament. With his -20 victory last week securing him the last spot in the Masters field, Bhatia will be fulfilling a childhood dream.
The final scenes of Bhatia’s win at the Valero Texas Open seem like something out of a movie. On the 18th hole after sinking a 12 foot putt to enter a playoff against Denny McCarthy, Bhatia’s shoulder dislocated due to a well deserved massive fist pump. After popping his shoulder back in place, Bhatia went on to finish with another birdie. Following that, McCarthy double-bogeyed, earning Bhatia a PGA Tour victory. He mentioned in a press conference on Monday that the shoulder is a “work in progress” and the dislocation that took place has actually happened to him two or three times before.
Bhatia’s story is a rather unconventional one. The son of Indian immigrants, Bhatia played in his first PGA Tour event in March of 2019, at 17 years old. He entered the Valspar Championship on a sponsor exemption, and unfortunately did not make the cut. His amateur career came to an end in September of that same year after competing in the Walker Cup, where he was the first high schooler ever to do so, and he made his professional debut at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
The Northridge, California native cites watching his older sister, Rhea, swing a club as the catalyst for his interest in golf. His sister being four years his senior and a talented golfer as well, Bhatia was a child when his father Sonny noticed how badly his son wanted to play. He was too young at the time, but he watched his sister and eventually got his chance to compete.
Akshay and his father both decided that college wouldn’t be a part of his journey when Bhatia was in eighth grade. Sonny noted that golf was the only thing Akshay wanted to spend time doing, so much so that one day, he essentially said to his son “Screw it, don’t go to college. Let’s not do it”. As you can imagine, Akshay quickly jumped on that offer. Bhatia has said that school was never really for him, that he has always had a hard time concentrating, sitting still, and keeping golf out of his thoughts. Bhatia does not think schooling and higher education is “a bad thing” though, and acknowledges how beneficial those four years can be to improving one’s golf game. He even toured a few schools and spoke with coaches at one point, but ultimately felt it just wasn’t the best choice for him.
Bhatia has built an impressive resume for himself during his time playing professional golf. In August of 2020, he won the ST 11 at Old South Golf, an event on the Swing Thought Tour. In 2021, he won another Swing Thought Tour event: ST 12 at Brunswick. That same year, Bhatia won the Biggs Classic and qualified for the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where he made the cut and tied 57th. In January of 2022, Akshay won the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour, his first start as a member of the tour. Though he did not receive his PGA Tour card, he did earn Special Temporary Member status on the PGA Tour after a runner-up finish at the Puerto Rico Open in 2023. Bhatia did not have to wait long that year for his first PGA win. In July, he won the Barracuda Championship in a playoff. Fast forward to today, he has another PGA win under his belt and is making an appearance at one of the most iconic tournaments in golf.
Now, after an opening 72 (E), Bhatia sits tied for 27th on the Masters leaderboard, right alongside Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Bubba Watson, Brooks Koepka, and Wyndham Clark, to name a few. With a good second round, he will be in line to make the cut at the end of today. Regardless of the results of the Masters, the young golfer has and will continue to excel in his professional career.
Photo Credit: Eric Gay / Associated Press
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