For those who have followed Akshay Bhatia’s decorated golf career, the fact that the 22-year-old phenom captured his second PGA Tour title on Sunday — earning his first berth into a major tournament — might come as no surprise.
But the way Bhatia won, running away from most of the field early and then outlasting a wily veteran in a playoff at the 2024 Valero Texas Open to earn a spot in next week’s Masters? That certainly might have the golf world doing a collective double-take.
Bhatia finished off one of the most impressive and improbable wire-to-wire victories in recent memory, fending off a heroic charge by runner-up Denny McCarthy on Sunday afternoon, and finding his way into the winner’s circle at the TPC San Antonio Oaks Course.
McCarthy forced a playoff with an incredible string of eight birdies over the final nine holes, and after he buried a seventh straight birdie putt on 18, it appeared he might be poised for his first PGA Tour victory.
Bhatia responded with a huge birdie putt of his own on the tournament’s 72nd hole, and then watched as McCarthy made a surprising and fatal mistake by chunking a wedge from 99 yards out on the playoff hole — and splashing it into a creek.
Winning is hard.
Denny McCarthy has found the water from 99 yards out on the first playoff hole. pic.twitter.com/41GpsUEvEZ
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 7, 2024
“Wish I could have had that wedge shot back there. I backed off a couple times,” McCarthy said. “There was a bug on my ball and some noise in the stands and a bug jumped back on my ball. I probably should have backed away again, but I thought I could kind of not let it distract me and maybe it did a little.
“Maybe a learning experience for me, but all in all I handled myself really well today.”
Adding a little more drama, Bhatia then asked for his shoulder to be taped up by a trainer before his approach on the playoff hole, telling those on hand that he pulled it out of its socket during a fist-pump celebration after hitting the putt on 18.
But he safely found the green and then dropped a six-footer to earn the trip back to Augusta.
The field for the 88th Masters Tournament is set. See you back at Augusta National, Akshay. #themasters
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 7, 2024
“Denny played unbelievable. It’s tough, he’s one of the best putters out here. Yeah, it’s scary how good he played. To shoot 8 under on the back is like unheard of,” Bhatia said. “You think he might…
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