Akshay Bhatia, 17, gets first PGA Tour experience

Akshay Bhatia’s first PGA Tour event should provide a lot of memories, but one downside will be in missing the 36-hole cut.

Bhatia, the 17-year-old from Wake Forest generally considered the best U.S. junior golfer, played as an amateur in the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla. Paired with pros Kramer Hickok and Chase Wright, Bhatia had rounds of 74 and 72 on the par-71 Copperhead course.

Bhatia, a two-time Junior PGA Championship winner, has said he hopes to compete for the U.S. in the Walker Cup matches this year, then turn pro. No college golf. While he has attempted to qualify for a few PGA Tour events, the Valspar was his first.

Bhatia, a lanky lefthander, was credited with a 331-yard drive and birdied his first hole Thursday, the par-4 10th but then double-bogeyed the par-5 11th and bogeyed the par-4 12. He had two birdies on his back nine to pull back to even-par for his round but bogeyed three of the last four holes for a 74.

In Friday’s second round, he birdied three of the first five holes before a double-bogey at the par-4 ninth. He had a birdie and three bogeys on the back and finished bogey-bogey for his 1-over 72 and 146 total.

Driving accuracy cost Bhatia in the opening round -- he hit just four fairways.

Bhatia was named the 2018 Rolex Junior Player of the Year and helped the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team defeat the European team in the September 2018 matches in Paris. He was the runnerup in the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship and also competed in the 2018 U.S. Amateur.

In an interview with media before the Valspar, Bhatia said he was able to get in a practice round with Jon Rahm and meet Dustin Johnson, the No. 1 ranked player in the world.

This story was originally published March 22, 2019 at 3:50 PM.