“I hate missing the cut. This year I’ve missed a lot and it’s not fun”. This was said yesterday by Akshay Bhatia after finishing the second round of the Valero Texas Open that was going to reaffirm and confirm him as the sole and outstanding leader. Today, Saturday, he will go out to defend or increase that five-stroke lead he currently has over his immediate pursuers, Russell Henley, Brendon Todd and Denny McCarthy; and the six he has with Rory McIlroy…
It’s true, this year he has missed many cuts. Probably too many for a player who aspires to be a regular in the world top 50, where the keys that open the doors to the Majors are distributed (to date he has only played one, the 2021 US Open). In 2024 he had already played nine tournaments before arriving this week in San Antonio, missing up to four cuts, half if we consider that the Sentry does not have.
Bhatia is a newcomer to the elite, really. He turned 22 last January and hasn’t even played a hundred tournaments valid for the world ranking. His electric golf hooks, it is clear that he is a special, different player, but he needs to gain consistency. That’s why, his round yesterday (70 strokes) almost left him more satisfied than Thursday’s 63, as he saw himself capable of fixing the day and beating the course without his best sensations.
Akshay has always missed many cuts. To date he has played 85 tournaments valid for the world ranking in his career and has missed 37 cuts, close to half (43.52 percent). And he has realized, it seems, that consistency in the game also goes through what happens on the other side of the ropes, when you are no longer playing or competing.
In fact, in recent times he is working on a different way of thinking, of analyzing, especially when he is not on the course: “Talking better to myself makes a difference. Learning to handle certain things off the golf course is helping me. This is where I have really seen growth in recent weeks, just trying to do better things off the golf course. I am mentally learning to see each day as a learning experience and stop punishing myself for not winning”, he pointed out.
A very stressful weekend awaits him, because he has already positioned himself at the gates of a whole Masters of Augusta, which would be the second Major in his career. On the golf course he has already sufficiently demonstrated that he has the game to stand out, to be one of the best. And off the course he is immersed in the mental process that can really make him a contender for everything. Youth plays in his favor. And determination. He has plenty of this: he is very clear that he has not come this far to be a supporting actor.
