Atlanta (US), Aug 25: Indian-American golfer Akshay Bhatia ended a fine week at the TOUR Championship with a final round of 2-under 68, which secured him a share of 13th place at East Lake.
The 23-year-old Bhatia finished at 10-under-par overall on Sunday and earned USD 570,000.
It was a good end to a week that began with Bhatia sneaking into the season finale as the last qualifier in the 30th place and he showed that he belonged to the game’s elite.
Meanwhile, on a dramatic final day at East Lake Golf Club, Tommy Fleetwood finally shed his “best player without a win” tag, securing his long-overdue first PGA Tour title and with it came the FedEx Cup crown.
He finished with a composed 2-under 68, ending at 18-under-par for a three-shot win over Patrick Cantlay and Russell Henley.
Fleetwood’s closest rival Cantlay began bogey-double bogey and could never catch up.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler hit his opening tee shot out of bounds but stayed a big threat till his tee shot went into the water on the 15th. Rory McIlroy (70) ended Tied-23rd.
Tied with Cantlay after three rounds, Fleetwood held his nerves at all times on the final day. Fleetwood’s first PGA TOUR victory came with two trophies — the FedExCup and the ‘Calamity Jane’ replica putter for the TOUR Championship.
The 34-year-old Fleetwood birdied on the second and that was followed by a dropped shot on fifth and then came back-to-back gains on the sixth and the seventh.
A bogey on the 10tth was again followed by back-to-back birdies on the 12th and the 13th. A bogey on the 15th was another blip but pars on the last three holes ensured a comfortable title win.
Bhatia, meanwhile, started steadily with pars but broke out with back-to-back birdies on the 3rd and 4th holes.
In an up-and-down round, he gave back a shot on the fifth, but ran three birdies in a row from the sixth to the eighth and again closed the front nine with a bogey. He was 3-under for the front nine.
On the back nine, he parred seven in a row and then double bogeyed the 17th before ending the season with a birdie for a 68 for a tally of 10-under and a T-13 finish.
For Fleetwood, it ended a long series of heart breaks and close brushes with victories. He became the first player in the FedEx Cup era to secure his inaugural PGA Tour victory at the Tour Championship and the victory came with a USD 10 million prize.
Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley was within one shot of the lead on the front nine but ended with a 70 to tie for seventh. His big decision now is to decide whether to use one of his six captain’s picks on himself.
In the recent past, Fleetwood’s one-shot lead turned into a one-shot loss at the Travelers Championship with Bradley winning. Fleetwood then gave away a two-shot lead with three holes to play at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. (PTI)
