Not much should surprise us in golf anymore, but the Rocket Mortgage Classic dished up a bizarre scene as Akshay Bhatia lost a ball down a drain on the fairway.
Luckily his chances of winning another PGA Tour event did not disappear down the drain along with his Callaway, as he got a free drop from next to the unusually large drain holes.
You do have to question the thinking behind those in charge at Detroit Golf Club to use drain covers with holes large enough for golf balls to drop through them – and Bhatia will surely not have been the only one to suffer the same fate.
Although commentators on the TV broadcast remarked: “I’ve never seen anything like this” as a rules official talked Bhatia through the situation.
In trying to identify his ball, Bhatia had to peer through the holes down into the darkness of the drain, saying he was “fairly certain that’s a Callaway at the bottom” of the drainage pipe.
And he remained in good spirits as the official comically said they did not have to go down and get the ball, commenting “are you sure” to which the official responded: “Unless you know can figure out how to get it open.”
So a free drop ensued for Bhatia on the par-five 17th hole, which was his eighth of the day having teed off on 10.
You don’t see this everyday 😂 @AkshayBhatia_1’s ball went missing in a drain @RocketClassic! pic.twitter.com/vZlzuABJvyJune 28, 2024
The left-hander smoked a drive 314 yards down the fairway, only to make the walk down there and not spot his ball on the grass, which would have been a huge worry.
After discovering what had happened, and getting the relief away from the drain, Bhatia took it in his stride as he then hit his second shot 270 yards up near the green before going on to make a par five.
There are no pictures on the scorecard they say, but that will go down as one of the more eventful pars the young Bhatia will card in his career.
Still just 22, Bhatia is already a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, as he followed up last year’s Barracuda Championship title with victory in April’s Valero Texas Open this year.
With both of his wins coming in a playoff, it’s clear that Bhatia, who finished T16 at this year’s US Open, does not struggle with nerves so it’ll take more than a little thing like his ball disappearing down a drain to rattle him.
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