Akshay Bhatia had a tough break at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
He was on the 18th hole, needing just a par to force a playoff with Cameron Davis. His approach shot landed on the left side of the green, about 30 feet from the flag, which was downhill and on the opposite side.
Bhatia’s birdie putt didn’t get close enough for an easy tap-in. Instead, he faced a tricky four-foot putt for par but missed it for the first time all week . “It sucks, no other way to put it,” Bhatia said afterward. Davis, who won, remarked, “I wouldn’t wish what happened to Akshay on anyone…”
Performance and Stats:
Bhatia has been putting well this season (ranked 30th in SG: Putting) and usually gets better as tournaments progress. He moved up from 100th in putts-per-round on Thursday to 85th by Friday and climbed even higher over the weekend.
Fans might think he’s having an unlucky streak lately.
In terms of three-putt avoidance, he’s ranked 41st among PGA Tour players this year with only 26 three-putts out of 1,188 holes (2.19%).
But last Sunday wasn’t his day; nerves got him on that final hole. He explained that his first putt came up short because he didn’t want to overshoot by five or six feet due to the slope and slower greens later in the day.
“Yeah, I mean it’s hard,” Bhatia admitted. “I’m human… I’ve done it before; today just wasn’t my day.”
Despite this setback, Bhatia’s season has been excellent with one win at Texas Open in April and consistently good performances—11 top-25 finishes out of his last 20 starts! He’s improving each week too.
Next up? A two-week break before heading to Scotland for The Open Championship at Royal Troon. Even though Sunday’s miss stung , Bhatia is optimistic about his game moving forward.
“[I’m] playing good golf… hopefully I can put myself in position once again,” he said confidently.
What do you think? Can he bounce back strong?
