Big Weekend for the Lefties

 



Brian (I have written Brain so many times. I hope he does not win for a while) Harman grabbed headlines with his dominant performance at the Open Championship. There was also another tournament happening in Truckee, California. The Reno-Tahoe Open or as it is now called, the Barracuda Championship was a hard-fought victory for Akshay Bhatia. 

Bhatia who is only 21, turned pro when he was 17. What were you doing when you were 17? He came into golf fans hearts this spring with his daring tactics at the Honda Classic in February. You may remember Bhatia stripping down to just his pants not once, but twice in the final round.

To an extent each of us amateurs can empathize with a wayward shot followed by a slap out of the mud. What we cannot get is what Bhatia got after his first smattering of mud. His girlfriend Presleigh brought him a change of clothes. He changed in a porta potty. What a guy! What a woman!

Then seven holes later it happened again...



His play this year has been through exemption status and his opportunities have been limited by this. With the season winding down and his chances of reaching the Tour Championship dwindling, Bhatia used a stellar 3rd round -8 to catapult onto the leaderboard. He birdied the 72nd hole to get into a playoff with non-lefty Patrick Rodgers. Bhatia only needed 1 playoff hole after Rodgers (who is winless in 246 starts) ball found a divot off the tee. 


Tough luck for Rodgers but this weekend was for the lefties!

After his round ended Bhatia was asked about his girlfriend Presleigh. He got choked up in his response.

"Sorry"

"Shes"

"I mean, so much"

"Gosh"

"She's been through it all with me"

*in addition to timely clothing delivery she has even carried his clubs in competition*

"I mean she had no idea what golf was when I first met her ...She travels every week with me, it's not easy. It's about me 100% of the time...You know I couldn't imagine my life without her."

Akshay if you ever read this... MARRY HER!

With his win Bhatia gets full PGA Tour status, exemptions into the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Masters, US Open, PGA Championship, the Arnie Palmie, and Players. This guy is on his way, and his story will only grow from his win yesterday. 


Coming up this week is the 3M Open in Minnesota. The field is set and our guy Akshay will be there to continue his hopeful path to Atlanta and the Tour Championship at the end of August. Unintentionally, but very intentionally putting the cart before the horse here, but he maybe working his way onto the Ryder Cup if he plays well over the next month. BIG IF, but crazier things have happened. 

The plan here at Bogey Bogey Start is to release posts on Fridays (after the cut), Sundays (after the final round) and at some point during the week, content TBD. Thank you for your support! 


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