Who needs college? Akshay Bhatia, who has done it his way, now a PGA Tour winner
Akshay Bhatia said he spent part of Sunday morning “chilling” in a cabin near Lake Tahoe and watching a friend, Brian Harman, sloshing his way to a British Open title at Royal Liverpool.
But Bhatia had some big golf plans of his own. He soon was playing in the final round of the Barracuda Championship at Tahoe Mountain Club, seeking his first PGA Tour title.
When Sunday was done, Harman had a six-shot victory, the Claret Jug, $3 million and his spot in golf’s pantheon of major championship winners.
Bhatia, the 21-year-old from Wake Forest, had a victory that felt pretty major to him.
The perks: $684,000 after his playoff victory over Patrick Rodgers, a nice-sized trophy, full status on the PGA Tour and the chance to qualify for the upcoming FedEx playoffs.
“It’s a great feeling,” Bhatia said in his post-round press conference. “Because job security now, I can kind of, not free wheel it, but I know how to win. I know I can do it against some of the best players in the world.”
Both Harman and Bhatia are left-handed golfers. Both were born in the U.S. But that’s where most of the similarities end.
Harman is 36, balding, a Georgia native who played college golf for the Bulldogs and joined the PGA Tour in 2012. At 5-foot-7, he’s as short off the tee as he is in stature, but a terrific ball-striker and streaky good putter, as he proved over four days in northwest England..
Bhatia, flag-stick thin at 6-1 and 130 pounds, could pass for a college guy with his slight build and horn-rimmed glasses. Born in California, he and his family moved to Wake Forest when he was very young, growing into a golfer with plenty of length in his game and no lack of self-confidence.
Bhatia, home-schooled, did not play high school golf. College golf, either. He turned professional at age 17, saying he wanted to “chase my dream” – a phrase he often has used in his drive to reach the PGA Tour.
Some scoffed at his decision. Raleigh native Ty Tryon qualified for the PGA Tour at 17, the youngest ever, was on the tour in 2002 and finished as high as third in the Bay Hill event. But he flamed out quickly, unable to handle the grind of constant travel, combined with the pressure of competition and the expectations.
“Just a tough situation,” Tryon said in a 2018 N&O interview. “It was more than just playing golf.”
Bhatia, in his own words, has seen the “good and the bad” in his short professional career. Like Tryon, he has had some injuries that slowed down his ascent. Like Tryon, he has had to temper expectations as he made the climb. It’s more than just the golf.
Bhatia’s amateur career highlighted his golf potential. He won some junior events with ease and was runner-up in the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur. He played on the winning U.S. Walker Cup team in 2019.
It has been tougher as a pro, dealing with the pandemic as he tried to squeeze into PGA Tour events through sponsor exemptions or Monday open qualifying. He did the same on the Korn Ferry Tour before a breakthrough in January 2022, winning the Bahamas tournament — and $135,000 — just before his 20th birthday.
Bhatia did not qualify for the PGA Tour for 2023, but made it into the Puerto Rico Open in March and finished second for a $414,200 payday. That earned him special temporary membership status on the tour — and eventually his chance in the Barracuda after a tie for ninth in the Barbasol Championship.
The Barracuda tournament used the Stableford scoring system, awarding two points for birdies and five for eagles and subtracting points for bogeys and worse.
Bhatia moved into position with a third-round 63 with six birdies and an eagle for 17 points. He faltered early Sunday with a double-bogey on the fifth hole but had six birdies over the last 13 holes, including the 18th, to force a playoff with Rodgers with 40 points.
Another birdie on the 18th, the first playoff hole, and that was that.
“My heart was beating so fast I could hardly breathe,” he said after the round.
Bhatia soon received a big hug from Presleigh Schultz, his girlfriend and at times his caddie.
“She’s been through it all with me,” Bhatia said in his post-round interview, growing emotional. “I mean she had no idea what golf was when I first met her. … I couldn’t imagine being on this journey without her by my side.”
And a journey it has been for Bhatia, who made it through U.S. Open local qualifying at 15, drawing a first rush of early media attention. He has done it his way, painstakingly taken all the steps needed to be a tour winner.
“I knew if I ever got into a position like that I could do it,” he said Sunday. “I’ve done it at every level. … It’s obviously been a really tough road. I’ve had a lot of up, a lot of down.
“But I knew I was going to get here. It was just a matter of time.”
This story was originally published July 24, 2023 at 12:14 PM.
