Bhatia’s second-to-last putt of the week, which would have secured him a spot in a playoff with Cam Davis, missed from 4 feet 3 inches. But it was the putt before that, which came from 32 feet 1 inch, that he’d much rather have back.
The 22-year-old was tentative on the greens for much of the back nine, leaving a number of putts short for safety reasons rather than aggressively going after the win. The strategy nearly worked up until the 72nd green, when his birdie effort to win left him with a lengthy par effort just to tie. In fairness, bumpy, poa annua greens like the ones at Detroit Golf Club tend to get much slower as the day rolls on. While he did acknowledge that was a factor, he didn’t use it as an excuse.
In his 17th start to the season, Davis prevailed and came out on top. Previous to that, his best finish was no better than T12.
He shot a final-round 2-under 70 to post an 18-under total, winning by a shot over Akshay Bhatia, Davis Thompson, Min Woo Lee and Aaron Rai.
Bhatia led or co-lead the event through the first three days. However, he had a chance to force a playoff, but ultimately three-putted the 18th to fall by one. It was his first three-putt of the week and it cost him a shot at another playoff opportunity.
Last week, he fell short in a playoff with Scottie Scheffler and Tom Kim at the Travelers Championship. Scheffler went on to win his sixth PGA Tour event.
The 29-year-old won the Rocket Mortgage Classic in 2021 and became the event’s
