Despite a Late Run By Denny McCarthy and A Dislocated Shoulder, Akshay Bhatia Wins Thrilling Valero Texas Open, Secures Spot in Masters

The 22-year-old lefty Akshay Bhatia withheld a jaw-dropping late run by Denny McCarthy to win the Valero Texas Open in a sudden-death playoff and play his way into next week’s Masters.

Bhatia nearly ran away with the tournament, holding a six-shot lead entering the 10th hole before McCarthy birdied eight of the final nine holes — including seven straight to finish — to reach 20-under par and put the pressure on Bhatia. Bhatia then made his 11-foot birdie putt to force a playoff. He birdied the first playoff hole while McCarthy double-bogeyed, sealing his second career PGA Tour win.

Bhatia made news at a young age when he turned pro at 17 after an illustrious junior golf career. Instead of going the college route, Bhatia went through the struggles of professional life, missing seven straight cuts in 2020 and losing his tour card in 2021. He then earned back his card in 2022 and went on to win the 2023 Barracuda Championship, an opposite-field PGA Tour event that earned him no points.

Bhatia turned a corner entering this season, finishing in the top 15 at The Sentry, the Sony Open and the Farmers Insurance Open. He missed the next three cuts but is now on a run of T17 (Valspar), T12 (Houston) and a dominant win this week in San Antonio against a solid field.

Now, he’ll make his Masters debut and just his second career major appearance. He played in the 2021 U.S. Open and made the cut.

This week, though, Bhatia went wire-to-wire for the big win. He opened Thursday with a 63 to take a three-shot lead at TPC San Antonio and never let it go. He entered the weekend with a five-shot lead, but maybe most impressive was how he weathered some slight Saturday struggles to reduce the lead to just one. His response was to go four-under on his last 10 holes and carry a four-shot lead into Sunday.

Bhatia did little to give his lead away. He birdied three of his first four holes Sunday and bogeyed just one hole all day to shoot a 67. McCarthy’s 63 put the pressure back on Bhatia, and Bhatia weathered a shoulder injury down the stretch to win.