Akshay Bhatia entered the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit on the strength of his runner-up finish at the Travelers Championship.
He shot an eight-under, bogey-free 64 with six birdies and one eagle on Thursday at Detroit Golf Club.
“It was up and down today, because I missed the green once,” Bhatia said. “Overall, I hit some pretty good shots with my irons and made some putts.”
Bhatia birdied two of his first four holes but finished with seven straight pars before his putt was in great form.
The 22-year-old finished in 6-under 30 on his final seven holes, including a birdie.eagle– Birdie finish.
“Yeah, it’s always nice to finish like that,” he said. “This tournament is always kind of a birdie fest, so a birdie or an eagle goes a long way. It’s nice to finish like that.”
Last week’s Travelers Championship was another birdie fest, and before that the U.S. Open and Memorial Tournament provided some serious testing for the players.
But Bhatia appreciates both challenges.
“I played the U.S. Open and it was really tough, but I got a lot of birdies last week and this week so I feel like it’s pretty fun again,” Bhatia said. “I think it’s a really good mix of things and I’m really happy to be playing on some old-school golf courses.”
The two-time PGA Tour winner prefers traditional golf courses like Detroit Golf Club, which suits his game well, and as one of the better iron players on Tour, he likes the shot options that playing this course gives him.
“I feel like I can be creative like I always do,” he said. “The green is pretty tricky, so that’s nice too. It’s got a lot of little slopes, but it’s soft, so you can be aggressive towards the pin.”
Bhatia leads by one stroke after the first 18 holes of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Taylor Montgomery and Michael Kim are behind him at 7 under.
He will perform alongside Steven Yeager and Ming Woo Lee at 7:18 a.m. ET on Friday.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow us for more golf articles. Follow You can follow us on all major social platforms. You can also follow us on Twitter Follow Instagram: @savannah_leigh_sports
