Akshay Bhatia wins maiden PGA Tour title at Barracuda Championship

Playing under special temporary membership since his runnerup finish at the Puerto Rico Open in March Akshay Bhatia birdied the closing hole in regulation then capitalized in sudden death when Patrick Rodgers found a divot in the fairway to win his first PGA Tour title at the Barracuda Championship on SundayThe 21yearold Bhatia who turned pro at 17 earned full status on tour and a spot in the FedEx Cup playoffsldquoItrsquos obviously been a really tough road Irsquove had a lot of up a lot of down A lot of good a lot of badrdquo Bhatia said ldquoBut I knew I was going to get here It was just matter of time For it to happen this year with special temporary membership and now to get to play all these events and to get it done today was I canrsquot even describe itrdquoBhatia converted a birdie from about 15 feet on the par4 18th hole at Tahoe Mountain Club to finish with 40 points under the modified Stableford scoring system that awards five points for eagle and two for birdie while deducting a point for bogey and three for double bogey The slender lefthander had nine points on Sunday He made double bogey on the par4 fifth hole then made six birdies without a bogey from thereThat was good enough to match Rodgers who missed a birdie attempt from roughly the same distance on the 18th Rodgers scored six points in the final round with one birdie and two bogeys on the back nine for zero pointsAlso Read Golfing Gauri Karhade goes Down UnderIn the playoff Rodgersrsquo tee shot on the 18th settled in a divot and he chunked his approach His pitch was well short and he twoputted for bogey Bhatia left his birdie putt just short and tapped in for the victoryldquoI knew that if I got into a position like this I could do it Irsquove done it at every level Man that felt uncomfortable out thererdquo Bhatia said ldquoThat putt on 18 in regulation was just man itrsquos a crazy feeling I as telling my caddie like your brain and everything you can feel all this adrenaline all this shakiness Itrsquos pretty crazyrdquoRodgers remains winless in 246 PGA Tour starts The 31yearold former Stanford star failed to convert a 54hole lead for the fifth timeldquoI felt like I had control of the tournament I had a putt to win which was nice So bummer resultrdquo Rodgers said ldquoKind of a crummy break there in the playoff In the middle of the fairway to drive it in a divot But thatrsquos just the way it goes Irsquoll come back strongerrdquoTwo European tour players tied for third in the cosanctioned event Julien Guerrier made 10 birdies on Sunday to score 20 points and finish with 37 alongside Jens Dantorp who had 15 points in the final roundRyan Gerard also a special temporary member was fifth with 36 points He totaled just six points over the final two roundsBhatia largely struggled his first three years after bypassing college to turn pro He won in the Bahamas on the Korn Ferry Tour at the beginning of 2022 but still fell short of earning a PGA Tour cardNow hersquos eligible for some of the richest events in golf including the PGA ChampionshipldquoFor it to all come to fruition play with some of the best players in the world play some of the greatest events in the world and to win on the PGA Tour itrsquos a great feelingrdquo Bhatia said ldquoBecause of job security now I can kind of not free wheel but I know how to win I know I can do it against some of the best players in the worldrdquoWith agency inputs