Akshay Bhatia clinched his second PGA Tour victory after winning the 2024 Valero Texas Open in a playoff round against Denny McCarthy. The American professional golfer had an incredible form right from the start of the event as he had a bogey-free round on the first day that saw him score 9-under 63.
Bhatia then delivered a solid performance on day two with four birdies and two bogeys, finishing with a score of 2-under 70. He continued his strong showing into the third day, securing six birdies and two bogeys, which brought him to a 4-under 68.
On the fourth and final day, Akshay Bhatia held the lead up to the 10th hole, but McCarthy’s impressive run of birdies on eight of the back nine holes pushed him to finish at 20 under par, setting the stage for a playoff round between the two.
In the playoff, Bhatia secured a birdie on the first hole, while McCarthy stumbled with a double bogey. Notably, Akshay Bhatia had been dealing with a left shoulder injury before the playoffs, but swift treatment allowed him to compete effectively. He managed to land his third shot on the green, ultimately positioning him to clinch the Masters‘ spot.
Akshay Bhatia then disclosed one of the reasons why he wanted to win the event and shared (via BBC):
“It was just incredible to be able to be in this position. My mum’s birthday was on 1 April, and her wish was [for me] to get into the Masters. So I hope I make her proud.”
With this stunning win, Akshay Bhatia got an invite to the upcoming Masters which he was eyeing for. Now, it would be intriguing to see him perform his best in a field filled with talented golfers.
Here’s all the players who have qualified for the 2024 Masters
The upcoming Masters Tournament is scheduled to take place on April 11th at the Augusta National Golf Club. The full roster of golfers has been announced, including thirteen LIV league golfers. The list of the golfers is as follows (according to Golf Digest):
- Tommy Aaron
- Ludvig Aberg
- Byeong Hun An
- Akshay Bhatia
- Keegan Bradley
- Sam Burns
- Angel Cabrera
- Patrick Cantlay
- Wyndham Clark
- Eric Cole
- Corey Conners
- Charles Coody
- Fred Couples
- Ben Crenshaw
- Cam Davis
- Jason Day
- Santiago De la Fuente
- Bryson DeChambeau
- Nick Dunlap
- Austin Eckroat
- Harris English
- Nick Faldo
- Tony Finau
- Matt Fitzpatrick
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Raymond Floyd
- Rickie Fowler
- Ryan Fox
- Sergio Garcia
- Lucas Glover
- Emiliano Grillo
- Adam Hadwin
- Stewart Hagestad
- Brian Harman
- Tyrrell Hatton
- Russell Henley
- Ryo Histasune
- Lee Hodges
- Nicolai Hojgaard
- Max Homa
- Viktor Hovland
- Sungjae Im
- Trevor Immelman
- Stephan Jaeger
- Dustin Johnson
- Zach Johnson
- Si Woo Kim
- Tom Kim
- Chris Kirk
- Kurt Kitayama
- Jake Knapp
- Brooks Koepka
- Christo Lamprecht
- Bernhard Langer
- Min Woo Lee
- Luke List
- Shane Lowry
- Sandy Lyle
- Peter Malnati
- Hideki Matsuyama
- Denny McCarthy
- Rory McIlroy
- Adrian Meronk
- Phil Mickelson
- Larry Mize
- Taylor Moore
- Collin Morikawa
- Grayson Murray
- Jack Nicklaus
- Joaquin Niemann
- Mark O’Meara
- Jose Maria Olazabal
- Thorbjorn Olesen
- Matthieu Pavon
- Gary Player
- J.P. Poston
- Jon Rahm
- Patrick Reed
- Justin Rose
- Xander Schauffele
- Scottie Scheffler
- Adam Schenk
- Charl Schwartzel
- Adam Scott
- Neal Shipley
- Vijay Singh
- Cameron Smith
- Jordan Spieth
- Craig Stadler
- Sepp Straka
- Jasper Stubbs
- Nick Taylor
- Sahith Theegala
- Justin Thomas
- Erik van Rooyen
- Camilo Villegas
- Tom Watson
- Bubba Watson
- Mike Weir
- Danny Willett
- Gary Woodland
- Tiger Woods
- Ian Woosnam
- Cameron Young
- Will Zalatoris
- Fuzzy Zoeller
