Golf: Bhatia bogeys final hole to lose title by one stroke – India Tribune

Detroit (US), July 1 (IANS) Akshay Bhatia three-putted the 72nd hole to lose by one stroke at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Cam Davis, who started the first day behind overnight leaders Bhatia and Aaron Rai, shot 2-under 70 with a birdie on the 17th and a par on the 18th to set a clubhouse target of 18-under.

On the 18th tee, Bhatia, in the final group with Aaron Rai, was one under par for the day and had a total of 18 under. He needed a birdie to win and a par to move into the play-off. But he three-putted from 32 feet and his par putt from six feet went for bogey and he dropped to second with a final-round 72 and a total of 17 under.

Rai had four pars in his last four holes for a score of 72 and at 17-under he was also in a tie for second place with the other two behind Davis Thompson (68) and Min Woo Lee (69).

Bhatia said, “It sucks. There’s no other way to say it. I mean, it just sucks.”

Bhatia had gone 54-under without a bogey, but snapped that run on the par-4 third earlier Sunday at Motown. He got it right back with a 32-foot birdie on the next hole. Bhatia added a birdie on the seventh to move to 18 under and was steady enough for the next 10 holes until the par-4 final hole. It was his first three-putt of the week and his first miss from inside 6 feet.

Bhatia was looking for his second win of the season after winning the Valero Texas Open in April. He also won the Barracuda Championship last year while participating in Special Temporary Membership.

It was Bhatia’s third top-10 finish of the season and second in a row after taking a T5 at the Travelers Championship. He moves from No. 15 to No. 11 in the season-long FedExCup rankings.

Bhatia began the final round as the only player in the field without a bogey after 54 holes. He made two bogeys in the final round.

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