Akshay Bhatia

The 21-year-old started just two shots off the 54-hole pace set by Tony Finau and opened with two birdies and six pars to remain right in the hunt. He stumbled from there with bogeys on three of the next four holes to play his way out of contention. It wasn't an ideal finish but certainly a great week with all things considered. Bhatia continues to show an affinity for coastal tracks with six of his top seven PGA TOUR finishes now coming near the coast. With $377K earned this week, Bhatia has now eclipsed $1 million in career earnings on the big stage ($1,247,311). Not too shabby for someone who would still be in college if he had taken the traditional route. 

Bhatia accepted Special Temporary Membership ahead of the Valspar and getting unlimited sponsor invites was one of the key perks. He missed the cut at Innisbrook Resort but will attempt to get back on track this week in the Dominican Republic. The result that clinched his STM came at the Puerto Rico Open while both of his top 10s on the KFT this season came in The Bahamas. He also won last year in The Bahamas, quickly proving to be a bit of a coastal course specialist. 

The 21-year-old bagged a runner-up finish at the Puerto Rico Open which earned him enough Non-Member FedExCup Points to earn Special Temporary Membership. That will allow him to receive unlimited sponsor invites for the remainder of the season but he'll still need to earn the proper FedExCup Points to earn full status for next season. He would need to win an event in order to receive Playoff eligilibity this season. Bhatia has three top 20s in 22 career PGA TOUR events and two of those have come in his last four starts. 

Bhatia traded 26 birdies with bogeys and a double this week a Grand Reserve Golf Club. That left him three shots clear of the third-place finishers but two shots behind the winner, Nico Echavarria. An emotional Bhatia talked about what this means to him after the round, "My goal this whole year was to finish No. 1 on the Korn Ferry Tour Money List, play that way, get my card that way. But, you know, just a different path." This doesn't guarantee him any status for 2024 but will allow him unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the season. That is a big bonus, especially this early, with so many events still remaining on the 2022-23 schedule.