Akshay Bhatia will be among the first players to tee up at the Kapalua Plantation Course in this week's Sentry Tournament. After winning the Barracuda Championship this fall, he secured a spot in this week's event.
After three days of play, the 21-year-old is one stroke behind 54-hole leader Chris Kirk.
First-time players usually struggle with Plantation courses. This course is not as easy as it looks, but Bhatia's caddy knows this place and has helped so far.
“I felt pretty comfortable today and I know my game is really good. Obviously changing my putter helped a lot,” said Bhatia. “I'm starting to feel really good. I'm looking forward to seeing how I feel with hopes of winning tomorrow.”
Bhatia shot a bogey-free 66 on Saturday, putting him at 20 under with 18 holes remaining.he made 7 birdies In the round, he hit 22 out of 54 holes, tied for the most. He believes his ability to make that putt is what allows him to compete.
This week he switched to a long putter, which was a big change for him.
“Statistically, my putting wasn't good,” he said. “I think the stats can be a little skewed sometimes, but that's just because we sat down and talked about it. My mental coach, my putting coach, my swing coach, they all helped me understand what decisions I made. They were involved in what decisions needed to be made.”
Last season, Bhatia ranked 183rd in strokes gained putts. Through his three rounds of play at Sentry, Wake, North Carolina, the Forest resident took his No. 1 spot. Putting stroke gain, He shot 5.578 from the field.
This is the putt that made Akshay Bhatia -19.
He currently ranks first in strokes gained and third in strokes gained in putting.
The long putter is clearly paying off. Last year, Bhatia ranked 183rd in Strokes Gained: Putting. #sentry #PGAT Tour pic.twitter.com/TH7DoaUoS8
— PlayingThrough (@_PlayingThrough) January 6, 2024
I've used a long putter a bit in the past, but this week will be the first time I've had it in my bag for four days straight.
“For me, the speed is much easier. The long putts feel a little more free,” said Bhatia. “I don't really think about it, I'm just imagining it and hitting it. It's a lot more free, and yes, it's fun to work with. I told my coach this week that this putter is going to be a different challenge than before, so Let’s see what happens tomorrow.”
With a new club in the bag, he took a no-judgment approach to his putting this week.
“Even if I make a lot of putts or miss a lot of putts, I don't really value the putter,” he said. “That's kind of what I've been doing. I see the ball going in a lot more than I do, so I'm happy to see it go in this direction.”
His efforts did not go unnoticed by other players. Jordan Spieth played with Batia on Saturday and praised his play on the green.
“Actually, given the way he putts, he should have had four or five gains on the greens today, but the putts that didn't go in looked like they were going to go in,” Spieth said. “No. 18 was the only unlucky one. For the rest of the day he rolled the stone.”
Will tomorrow be the day Bhatia gets his second PGA Tour win? With just 18 holes in front of him, it's a field that will allow him to fight to the end against the top players.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through.If you want to know more about golf, please follow us. @_PlayingThrough On all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirls and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
