This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Although he has put together an impressive 2024 season on the PGA Tour, Akshay Bhatia isn’t completely satisfied heading into this week’s Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C.
With the Wyndham being the final event of the regular season, Bhatia has already started to turn his attention to the playoffs, which start with next week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship. The top 70 players in the FedExCup standings will qualify for that tournament, and Bhatia currently holds the No. 8 spot.
The field will then be cut down to the top 50 players, who will compete in the BMW Championship from Aug. 22-25. Then, for the top 30 players, comes the Tour Championship, the final event of the season.
“Being my first full year out here, not really having the opportunity last year to compete in the playoffs and also coming in a little later to the game, just making these small steps is really cool,” Bhatia said. “Going into the playoffs, I’m excited to see these golf courses for once.
“I’ve watched the Tour Championship every single year. I actually went to Atlanta I think when I was 11 or 12 years old to go watch with a couple of my friends. Hopefully, you know, I can check that goal off and try and make a run towards the end of this season.”
It’s already been a season to remember for Bhatia, as the 22-year-old Northridge, Calif., native participated in all four majors for the first time in his career. Bhatia missed the cut at the PGA Championship and the Open Championship, but he tied for 35th at the Masters and finished T16 at the U.S. Open.
Bhatia also secured one of his two career PGA Tour titles this year, winning the Valero Texas Open on April 7.
“It’s been quite an interesting year for me,” Bhatia said. “I mean, it’s crazy it’s almost coming to an end. Yeah, it’s been a lot of good. Obviously winning out here is very hard and the way I did it being the last person to go to the Masters, it was all just such a fairy tale.
“I’ve had a lot of missed cuts and I’ve had a lot of made cuts and top 15s and a couple chances to win here and there. All in all, it’s been a pretty good first full season and I look forward to the rest of the last three playoff events.”
And Bhatia is already thinking beyond this season. He said he also wants to play in the Presidents Cup, which will be held from Sept. 24-29 in Montreal.
“Presidents Cup’s definitely a goal,” he said. “Obviously playing for your country is really special. Watching the Olympics is very, very inspiring and I hope to try and make my way towards that team. I’ve just heard a lot of great stories when it comes out of those team rooms.”
–Field Level Media
