Akshay Bhatia puts Masters debut within grasp amid Texas Open supremacy

Akshay Bhatia waltzed through TPC San Antonio like he owned it, playing brilliantly from tee to green to take control of the Valero Texas Open.

Still, he said Friday’s round, in which he shot a 2-under 70, was “nervous.”

“I felt like I struggled a lot off the tee today. My golf swing wasn’t great on the long ones, but my iron play was still phenomenal, my wedges were good, and I made some great putts.” said Bhatia.

“I know I’m reading the greens well, so I understand when I’m missing a putt right now and why it’s happening. So [I have] I now have a better understanding of where I need to improve in the coming days. ”

Bhatia, who shot a 9-under 63 on Thursday, remains at 11 under after 36 holes and heads into the weekend with a commanding lead. Bhatia, winner of last year’s Barracuda Championship (an alternative event held alongside the British Open), has a golden opportunity.

If he continues to win, he will earn the final spot at Augusta National and will have a full-circle moment. Ten years ago, Bhatia starred in the inaugural Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals, created by Augusta National Golf Club to showcase the nation’s best junior golfers.

The California native was tied for sixth that week, but was halfway to the Masters, a tournament he’s long wanted to play.

But after Friday’s round, Bhatia revealed that he has struggled with anxiety in the past, and playing 36 holes in a PGA Tour event with a trip to Augusta at stake would make anyone nervous.

“I know I can play well on this golf course. It’s hard to take it one shot at a time,” Bhatia said.

“I know a lot of people say you can do it, but it’s really hard to execute or think in one shot. All in all, it’s a tough golf course, a stressful golf course. I told everyone, ‘It’s a tough track and you’ve got to stay on your toes and make some really quality shots.’Hopefully we can do that this weekend.”

Photo credit: Raj Mehta/Getty Images

On Friday, Bhatia got off to a shaky start on the par-4 10th hole, a dogleg right. He pushed his tee shot far left into the deep grass, a spectacular mistake for the first-round leader. But he found his ball, hit a great shot on the green and sank the birdie putt. Burn! Thus, Bhatia took a nervous shot behind him and turned a bad start into a solid start.

“We’re going to fight against adversity here, we knew that from the beginning,” Bhatia said.

“I hit my tee shot to the left on the 10th and I said, this is adversity. I just had to fight today.”

Unlike Thursday, Bhatia had a tough fight on Friday. After birdieing the 10th, Bhatia stumbled on the 11th and bogeyed the par-4 15th.

But he knew Friday would be much more difficult than the opener.

“That’s not true, because there’s an expectation of, ‘Oh, I just shot 9 under, can I do it again?’ That’s not possible,” Bhatia said.

“This golf course is very difficult. It was pretty windy today. The greens have been getting firmer since the morning. I just try to pace myself and execute.”

Despite not being able to drive the ball well, Bhatia was able to play well on TPC San Antonio’s front and back nine on Friday.he made a birdie He hit No. 2, No. 7, and No. 8, and finished with a 3-under 33 on the last nine shots.

Despite struggling off the tee on a day when winds gusted up to 30 miles per hour, Bhatia sits well in the middle of the championship standings.

Now he can relax as he plans to celebrate their third wedding anniversary with takeout on Friday night with fiancée Presley. He plans to take things one day at a time, one step at a time, as he has always done, and if he continues to do so, a trip to Georgia may be on the cards.

Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.