Augusta Masters: After sealing last spot in field, Indian-American golfer Akshay Bhatia keen to put tough start to career behind him and shine on the biggest stage

It has been a week to remember for Akshay Bhatia and his parents as the 22-year-old Indian-American sealed the last available spot for the Augusta Masters by winning the Texas Open.

It allowed 64-year-old Sunil Bhatia and his wife Renu to drive from their home in Raleigh, North Carolina to Augusta to be with their son at the year’s first golf Major.

Akshay had been marked as a prodigy for years and was even part of the Drive, Chip and Putt Competition, the informal event held earlier in the Masters week, in 2014, finishing sixth before watching the practice rounds from the stands.

Akshay Bhatia with mother Renu Bhatia and sister Rhea Bhatia

“Those memories are fresh in our minds. Akshay was as excited as anybody to get a chance to play at the course. When he watched the practice rounds from outside the ropes, he wanted to get inside and play with the world’s best golfers. To walk all the 18 holes to watch Akshay play at the same course is a special feeling for all of us,” Sunil told The Indian Express on his way to Augusta.

Akshay was born in Northridge, California, and would grow up in Santa Clarita in the same state before the family relocated to Raleigh to support the golfing dreams of Akshay and his elder sister Rhea. While Sunil, who was born in London and has roots in New Delhi, worked in real estate business, Renu, who has her roots in Hyderabad, ran a golf catering company apart from working in a cruise liner ticketing agency.

A young Akshay often accompanied his father to Wakefield Golf Club, where he is now an honorary member, and played with his plastic drivers and putter before getting his first golf set at the age of 10. Rhea played collegiate golf at Queens University in Charlotte and the family would drive to nearby clubs to let the kids play full rounds.

Akshay Bhatia with father Sunil Bhatia (Sent by family)

“When your kids want to play golf, as parents your job is to support them and make whatever sacrifices you can make. The average monthly membership fee for one golfer was 200 dollars apart from the 80-100 dollars for every tournament they played. Sometimes, we spent more than 13 hours in a day with Akshay as he played two rounds of golf and then drove him back home,” remembers Renu. He even shifted to home-schooling in sixth grade so that he could focus on golf.

Sunil remembers his son waking him up at 1 a.m once to ask how he could become the best golfer in the world.

“I told him to sleep as he had school the next day. At breakfast, I told him that if he was the first person at practice and the last one to leave the golf club, it would make him a better golfer and a better person,” shared the father.

Success doesn’t come easy

In 2016, Akshay became the American Junior Golf Amateur champion before achieving the rare feat of winning the PGA Junior Championship two years in a row in 2017 and 2018. Being part of US teams for the Junior Presidents Cup and Junior Ryder Cup, Akshay also won the Youth Olympics silver medal in Argentina in 2018.

His first appearance on the PGA Tour came in 2017 as an amateur before turning pro in 2019, at the age of 17, with a sponsor exemption at the Valspar Open in Florida. Success didn’t come instantly and all seven starts with the exemption ended in missed cust. It was only last year that he won his maiden PGA Tour title at the Baracuda Championship, pocketing a cheque of $6,84,000. Last week’s win at the Texas Open brought the biggest prize money of his career – 1.6 million dollars.

Akshay Bhatia during the drive, chip and putt competition at Augusta in 2014. (Akshay Bhatia Instagram)

“We were not there to watch him win the Barracuda Open as he wanted us to be with his goldendoodle dogs Torrey and Gooshoo,” says Sunil.

In 2021, Akshay had spent a couple of days training with Phil Mickelson and shared his thoughts with this paper about spending time with the golfing great. “To train and to be under the mentorship of Phil is tremendous. I see him as a mentor, friend and big brother and he does a lot for me. To see one of the legends of the game care about a 19-year-old kid is really cool. He has helped with my chipping and my understanding of the short game and course management,” Akshay had said.

Fellow Indian origin golfer Sahith Thageela would be competing in his second Masters this week. “I don’t know if I quite realise what Sahith and I can do for golf in India. I think it’s awesome just being able to grow the game and not just in the States, but in India,” Akshay told the media at Augusta earlier this week.

As for his parents, they hope that their son will get a chance to host the Masters Champions dinner some day. “He loves butter chicken as well as Korean food. So we know what will be his choice for the Masters Champions dinner if he wins the title some day,” shares Renu.

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