Augusta, his father loved playing golf, so it was not difficult for Akshay Bhatia to get started. The hardest part was trying to convince my parents, especially my mother, that dropping out of college to become a professional was actually a good idea.
They certainly aren't complaining anymore.
After all, the 22-year-old Indian-American has ensured his presence at the prestigious Augusta Masters this week with a playoff win at the Valero Texas Open, taking home a pay check of over USD 1.6 million.
“My mom's birthday was April 1 and her wish was to go to the Masters,” the youngster said after the thrilling win, his second on the PGA Tour.It's a promise he made to her long ago when he was dreaming of becoming one of the best golfers in the world.
Bhatia used to tell his mother Renu that he would take her to Masters, the most prestigious of all the majors. This year, he said the same thing to his fiancée of three years, Presley Schultz.
Now, 10 years after playing in the inaugural edition of the famous Drive, Chip and Putt (DCP) at Augusta National Country Club, Renu, her father Sonny Bhatia, Schultz and most of their family will be in Augusta.
Bhatia was born in Northridge, a suburb of Los Angeles.However, his parents are from India and lived in Delhi before moving out. His sister Riya also plays this game.
The family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina around 2011. The facilities were better and, like many golfing children of his age, Bhatia was home schooled. He also made the US Walker Cup team.He turned professional in 2019, deciding not to take the college golf route like many top stars. This shook his parents. They wanted him to play golf but also complete his education in a traditional manner.
Hence, they had mixed feelings and Renu later revealed that she had not tried to refuse him.
It didn't work out then and now she's happy with it.At the Texas Open, Bhatia led by four strokes after three days, building a six-shot lead, before Denny McCarthy came out of nowhere with a solid back-nine performance to tie for the play-off with eight birdies. Seven of which went on the last seven holes.
The drama was not over.
Bhatia appeared to have dislocated his shoulder in the play-off and required medical attention, just as McCarthy missed his shot after a brilliant performance and was out of the running.
Bhatia underwent his medical, hit the next shot very close and hit another birdie to win the Valero Texas Open, a ticket to the Masters this week, a spot in all US$20 million signature events and Tour exemptions through the end of 2026. Received.
Bhatia will not be the only Indian-American at the Masters. The other, who won the Fortnite Championship on the PGA Tour last year, is Sahith Thegala, whose parents hail from Andhra Pradesh. Both Thigala and Bhatia are big hits on the PGA Tour.Schultz, who hails from Mississippi, met Bhatia in Texas in 2021. It wasn't long before he invited her to a golf tournament.
She was a student who had never been to a golf tournament, but was drawn to the game thanks to Bhatia, who became her fiancé last year.
"He believes in himself more than anyone," Schultz says of the man.
He also said that Bhatia had been telling him all year that he would go to the Masters.Even though confirmation came in the final weeks before the showpiece, he managed to keep this promise.
Bhatia's professional beginnings were not easy. He missed many cuts. Nevertheless, Phil Mickelson, one of the game's legends, took the young left-hander under his wing.
Soon after, Bhatia began to be looked after by Mickelson's management team. It was big for the youngster, who, like his idol, was left-handed.His initial success came only on mini tours – 'Swing Thought Tours' and 'GPR Tour'.
Big success then came in 2022 when he won the Korn Ferry title at the Bahamas Great Exhuma Classic with Schultz at his side. He was the third youngest winner there.
Last year, when the world's focus was on the Open, Bhatia won the Barracuda Championship, one of the four majors.
The win came the same week as the big tournament – the Open – and earned him a spot on the PGA Tour as expected.Bhatia has also not forgotten his Indian roots and wants to play in this country. He even received an invitation for the 2020 Hero Indian Open.
But then Covid came and he never got the chance to fulfill that aspiration. The tournament itself was cancelled.
Last known, Bhatia still wants to come to India.or PM PM
time
They certainly aren't complaining anymore.
After all, the 22-year-old Indian-American has ensured his presence at the prestigious Augusta Masters this week with a playoff win at the Valero Texas Open, taking home a pay check of over USD 1.6 million.
“My mom's birthday was April 1 and her wish was to go to the Masters,” the youngster said after the thrilling win, his second on the PGA Tour.It's a promise he made to her long ago when he was dreaming of becoming one of the best golfers in the world.
Bhatia used to tell his mother Renu that he would take her to Masters, the most prestigious of all the majors. This year, he said the same thing to his fiancée of three years, Presley Schultz.
Now, 10 years after playing in the inaugural edition of the famous Drive, Chip and Putt (DCP) at Augusta National Country Club, Renu, her father Sonny Bhatia, Schultz and most of their family will be in Augusta.
Bhatia was born in Northridge, a suburb of Los Angeles.However, his parents are from India and lived in Delhi before moving out. His sister Riya also plays this game.
The family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina around 2011. The facilities were better and, like many golfing children of his age, Bhatia was home schooled. He also made the US Walker Cup team.He turned professional in 2019, deciding not to take the college golf route like many top stars. This shook his parents. They wanted him to play golf but also complete his education in a traditional manner.
Hence, they had mixed feelings and Renu later revealed that she had not tried to refuse him.
It didn't work out then and now she's happy with it.At the Texas Open, Bhatia led by four strokes after three days, building a six-shot lead, before Denny McCarthy came out of nowhere with a solid back-nine performance to tie for the play-off with eight birdies. Seven of which went on the last seven holes.
The drama was not over.
Bhatia appeared to have dislocated his shoulder in the play-off and required medical attention, just as McCarthy missed his shot after a brilliant performance and was out of the running.
Bhatia underwent his medical, hit the next shot very close and hit another birdie to win the Valero Texas Open, a ticket to the Masters this week, a spot in all US$20 million signature events and Tour exemptions through the end of 2026. Received.
Bhatia will not be the only Indian-American at the Masters. The other, who won the Fortnite Championship on the PGA Tour last year, is Sahith Thegala, whose parents hail from Andhra Pradesh. Both Thigala and Bhatia are big hits on the PGA Tour.Schultz, who hails from Mississippi, met Bhatia in Texas in 2021. It wasn't long before he invited her to a golf tournament.
She was a student who had never been to a golf tournament, but was drawn to the game thanks to Bhatia, who became her fiancé last year.
"He believes in himself more than anyone," Schultz says of the man.
He also said that Bhatia had been telling him all year that he would go to the Masters.Even though confirmation came in the final weeks before the showpiece, he managed to keep this promise.
Bhatia's professional beginnings were not easy. He missed many cuts. Nevertheless, Phil Mickelson, one of the game's legends, took the young left-hander under his wing.
Soon after, Bhatia began to be looked after by Mickelson's management team. It was big for the youngster, who, like his idol, was left-handed.His initial success came only on mini tours – 'Swing Thought Tours' and 'GPR Tour'.
Big success then came in 2022 when he won the Korn Ferry title at the Bahamas Great Exhuma Classic with Schultz at his side. He was the third youngest winner there.
Last year, when the world's focus was on the Open, Bhatia won the Barracuda Championship, one of the four majors.
The win came the same week as the big tournament – the Open – and earned him a spot on the PGA Tour as expected.Bhatia has also not forgotten his Indian roots and wants to play in this country. He even received an invitation for the 2020 Hero Indian Open.
But then Covid came and he never got the chance to fulfill that aspiration. The tournament itself was cancelled.
Last known, Bhatia still wants to come to India.or PM PM
time
