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SAN ANTONIO — Akshay Bhatia practically celebrated too quickly Sunday, hurting his left shoulder whereas pumping his arms on a 12-foot birdie to drive a playoff. He recovered to make birdie on the primary further gap and win the Texas Open over hard-luck Denny McCarthy to earn a visit to the Masters.
It was a wild end on many ranges.
McCarthy was six pictures behind going to the again 9 on the TPC San Antonio when he birdied eight of the 9 holes — together with the final seven — making a 12-foot birdie for a 9-under 63. Bhatia needed to make his birdie putt from the identical vary to have an opportunity.
He made it for a 67, elevating his arms to shake them in his clutch second. And that is when he felt his shoulder — which he says has given him hassle earlier than — come out of its socket.
Bhatia hit his tee shot and laid up with a 5-iron on the par-5 18th within the playoff.
McCarthy, enjoying in his 174th PGA Tour occasion with out successful, was first to play and chunked a wedge so badly that he instantly hung his head. The ball got here up some 20 yards quick into the center of a creek.
After which Bhatia referred to as for therapy, jogging off the course briefly to get his shoulder taped. He returned and hit wedge to six toes. Needing three putts to win, he holed it to win for the second time on the PGA Tour.
“Man, what a loopy, loopy day,” Bhatia mentioned.
The 22-year-old Bhatia, who turned professional 5 years in the past, received on the Barracuda Championship final summer season. It was held reverse the British Open, so it didn’t get him into the Masters.
This one did, his first journey to Augusta Nationwide. And it got here 10 years after Bhatia performed within the Drive, Chip and Putt Nationwide Finals on the dwelling of the Masters. Now he will get to play on extra than simply the 18th inexperienced, and he fulfilled his mom’s want.
“That is superior,” he mentioned. “It is exhausting to win on the market because it confirmed right now. My mother’s birthday was April 1 and her want was to go to the Masters.”
McCarthy had already earned his spot from ending within the prime 50 on this planet final 12 months, however all that mattered on this second was that elusive PGA Tour trophy. He misplaced in a playoff final 12 months on the Memorial to Viktor Hovland.
This might need been much more crushing given the circumstances. McCarthy regarded to don’t have any probability after Bhatia, who began the ultimate spherical with a four-shot lead, birdied three of the opening 4 holes and stretched his benefit to 6 pictures on the flip.
There was a two-shot swing on the tenth when Bhatia missed a 5-foot par putt and McCarthy, among the best putters on tour, holed an 18-footer for birdie. Bhatia answered with a birdie on the eleventh, after which it was the McCarthy Present the remainder of the best way.
He made a 30-footer on the twelfth, drilled a 5-iron on the lengthy par-3 thirteenth to 4 toes, constructed from 10 toes on the par-5 14th, holed a 40-foot chip on the fifteenth and closed inside one shot with a 12-foot birdie putt on the sixteenth.
Bhatia missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the reachable par-4 seventeenth — McCarthy obtained up-and-down from the tough for birdie — and so they have been tied going to the 18th.
McCarthy made his birdie putt first, and stood to the facet, as shut as he has been to successful. After which Bhatia delivered a clutch second of his personal to match him at 20-under 268, forcing a playoff that ended badly for McCarthy.
“Want I may have had that wedge shot again there,” McCarthy mentioned. “I backed off a pair instances. There was a bug on my ball and a few noise within the stands and a bug jumped again on my ball. I most likely ought to have backed away once more, however I assumed I may type of not let it distract me and perhaps it did a bit. Possibly a studying expertise for me.”
Rory McIlroy closed with a 66 to complete alone in third in his remaining occasion earlier than the Masters, the one main conserving him from the profession Grand Slam.
McIlroy was runner-up and received in consecutive weeks in Dubai to begin the 12 months. This was his first prime 10 on the PGA Tour.
“I am in a greater spot than I used to be a couple of weeks in the past,” he mentioned. “It was good to see a spherical like this right now, good to play a golf match the place … I am clearly going to complete fairly a couple of pictures behind Denny and Akshay, however nonetheless, I performed fairly strong in some robust situations.”
He completed 9 pictures out of the playoff.
Bhatia would be the first Drive, Chip and Putt finalist to play within the Masters. The competitors has been one in all a number of improvements from Augusta Nationwide. It additionally began the Asia-Pacific Novice, the place a younger champion Hideki Matsuyama went on to seize a inexperienced jacket.
“I obtained the objective I had in thoughts,” Bhatia mentioned.
That features a journey to Augusta Nationwide. He additionally qualifies for the U.S. Open along with his second PGA Tour victory, and strikes to No. 34 on this planet.
Info from The Related Press was used on this story.
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