Akshay Bhatia secured the last spot at next week's Masters with a wire-to-wire win at the Valero Texas Open on Sunday.
The 22-year-old had to beat a red-hot Denny McCarthy in a one-hole playoff to secure his second victory on the PGA TOUR.
McCarthy entered Sunday's action four strokes back of the lead, but he enjoyed a remarkable, bogey-less round that featured eight birdies on the back nine to enter contention.
| Place | Player | Total to par | Round 4 score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akshay Bhatia* | -20 | 67 |
| 2 | Denny McCarthy | -20 | 63 |
| 3 | Rory McIlroy | -11 | 66 |
| 4 | Russell Henley | -10 | 69 |
| T-5 | Adam Schenk | -9 | 67 |
| T-5 | Brendon Todd | -9 | 71 |
*Won on first playoff hole
"Man, what a crazy, crazy day," Bhatia said, per The Associated Press.
"This is awesome," he added. "It's hard to win out there, as it showed today. My mom's birthday was April 1, and her wish was to go to the Masters."
An injury added even more drama to the final round. Bhatia suffered a dislocated shoulder while celebrating a birdie on the 18th hole.
An update on Akshay Bhatia's shoulder injury. https://t.co/iYKkZXlTKc pic.twitter.com/U08UYGHmiX
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 7, 2024
Despite the ailment, he birdied the playoff hole to secure his victory. McCarthy, meanwhile, ended up in the water, snapping his run of seven straight birdies.
"I've had some issues with (this shoulder) and, yeah, when I made that putt, and I kind of raised my arm, it kind of came out of (the) socket and went back in," Bhatia explained, per analyst Ron Mintz. "Thankfully, (the trainer) was still around and taped it up good, and it felt good hitting that wedge shot."
Bhatia is the first wire-to-wire winner of the Valero Texas Open since Bob Estes in 1994.
His previous victory came at the 2023 Barracuda Championship, which also ended in a playoff.
