Detroit, Jul 1 (PTI) Indian-American golfer Akshay Bhatia, who played so well all week, three-putted on the 72nd hole and lost by one shot to finish tied-2nd with an aggregate of 17-under 271 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic here.
Australian Cam Davis, starting the day one behind overnight leaders Bhatia and Aaron Rai, carded 2-under 70 with a birdie on the 17th and a par on 18th. His 18-under became the clubhouse target.
At the 18th tee, Bhatia, in the final group with Aaron, was one-under for the day and a total of 18-under. He needed a birdie to win and a par to get into the play-off. But he three-putted from 32 feet and his par putt failed to drop from six feet for a bogey as he fell to second with 72 in the final round and a total of 17-under.
Aaron had four pars in his last four holes for a 72 and, at 17-under, he was also in in a tie for second with Davis Thompson (68) and Min Woo Lee (69).
It was Davis’ second success at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
“I wouldn’t wish what happened to Akshay or anyone. But I’ve done a lot of grinding to kind of get myself out of a hole and just all of a sudden to do that, it’s pretty good,” said Davis.
Bhatia said, “It sucks. No other way to put it. I mean, just sucks.” Bhatia, 22, was looking to join a small list of modern-era Tour pros to win three titles before he turns 23. The list includes Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim and Sergio Garcia.
Bhatia hadn’t made a bogey through 54 holes but broke that run on the par-4 third earlier on Sunday.
He got that one back immediately, draining a 32-foot birdie on the very next hole. Bhatia added a birdie on the seventh to move to 18-under and was steady enough for the next 10 holes until the par-4 finishing hole. It was his first three-putt of the week and his first miss inside six feet.
Bhatia was looking for his second win of the season after capturing the Valero Texas Open in April. He also won last year’s Barracuda Championship while competing on Special Temporary Membership.
This was Bhatia’s third top-10 finish of the season and second in a row after finishing T5 at the Travelers Championship. He moves from No. 15 to No. 11 on the season-long FedExCup standings and further establishes his growing status in the pro game.
Bhatia entered the final round as the only player in the field without a bogey through 54 holes and made two bogeys in the final round.
Co runner-up Aaron Rai posted a career-high finish in his 85th career start on the Tour. His previous career-high finish was T3 at the 2023 RBC Canadian Open. It was his third top-10 this season. PTI Cor AM AM AM
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