Batia, Runner-up... 'Ah, Missed 1.3m Putt on Final Hole'

3-Putt Bogey on 18th Hole at Rocket Mortgage Classic
Minwoo Lee Ties for 2nd with Rye and Thompson, 'Tears'
Davis Secures 2nd Win Since 2021 Victory at This Tournament

Akshay Bhatia (USA) missed a short putt.

Aksai Batia

On June 30 (local time), at the Detroit Golf Club (par 72, 7,370 yards) in Detroit, Michigan, USA, the final round of the PGA Tour Rocket Mortgage Classic (total prize money $9.2 million) concluded with Bhatia settling for a tie for 2nd place (17-under 271) after failing to lower his score. He missed a 1.3m par putt on the final 18th hole (par 4), handing the winner's trophy to Cam Davis (Australia).

Bhatia, who had led for two consecutive days, exchanged two birdies and two bogeys on the day. After a bogey on the 3rd hole (par 4), he immediately recovered with a birdie on the 4th hole (par 5), then reduced his score again on the 7th hole (par 5) to continue the battle for the title. However, he played par for the next 10 holes and made a costly three-putt bogey from about 9.78m on the 18th hole, losing the championship trophy.

The 22-year-old Bhatia was born in Northridge, a suburb near Los Angeles, California. Like Phil Mickelson, Brian Harman (both USA), and Mike Weir (Canada), he is one of the few left-handed golfers on the PGA Tour. He is an emerging star who won his first title at the Barracuda Championship last July and claimed his second victory at the Valero Texas Open this past April. Bhatia demonstrated stable skills throughout the tournament, recording his first bogey only on the 57th hole. However, his final putting mistake was regrettable.

Davis carded four birdies and two bogeys to finish two strokes under par for the day, securing a come-from-behind victory at 18-under 270. This marked his second career win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, having first won the event in 2021. The winner's prize money was $1.65 million (approximately 2.3 billion KRW). Minwoo Lee (Australia) added three under par to finish tied for 2nd place. Aaron Rai (England), who was co-leader the previous day, failed to lower his score and dropped into this group. Tompson Davis (USA) also finished tied for 2nd. Cameron Young (USA), the 2022 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, ended in a tie for 6th place (15-under 273). All Korean participants, including Kim Juhyung, Kim Sunghyun, and Lee Kyunghoon, were cut from the tournament.