Akshay Bhatia wins on KFT

[MK7Golf21]

11 hours ago, StudentGolfer4 said:

Care to mention all of the highly rated guys that came out of college that didn’t make it on the big tour? 
 

You seem to know a whole lot about what’s going on inside his head. Are you by chance a Sports psychiatrist or Mind reader? 
 

Perhaps going to college and winning and individual nation title like Nick Gilliam, Matt Hill, or Cameron Wilson. College golf set all of those guys up for success brilliantly. (See it’s easy to pick and choose guys to try and fit your narrative.) 

 

duh! Of course not everyone makes it even those that decided to go to college. It is of my opinion that going to college and completing at that level first at least some helps vs. trying to make pga tour when you just got your drivers license and still worrying about acne. I'm sure the stats would back me up too.

 

Not to mention you never get that young college experience back, I wouldn't trade that for anything. Going later is life is way different.

Edited January 21, 2022 by Redjeep83

[golfday]

17 hours ago, Redjeep83 said:

 

not really bold at all to say, he's built up a lot of scar tissue playing bad and missing cuts trying to make it on the pga tour. It's no secret he has struggled. Going to college for a year or two helps to get you ready for pga tour when you have that talent, look at colin morikawa, matt wollf. I'd say they are doing much better.

 

Hope he does well, I would like to see him on the pga tour. The tournament he won is one of the weakest fields for korn ferry tour, most skip it.

They are definitely doing better, they're also a few years older and more importantly Hovland, Morikawa, and Wolff are the exception and not the rule. They're unicorns (esp. Hovland and Morikawa). Most great college players don't shoot out of a cannon to immediate success (and lots never have any access). I don't think they'd change their path, and I don't think Akshay would go back and change his. Anyone who wins on the KFT and makes the PGA Tour by 20 has it figured out.

 

This is the list of All-Americans from Hovland/Wolff/Morikawa's last year of college:

https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2019/06/21/college-golf-mens-all-americans/

 

Looking at that list and the success those players have had so far since college I don't think you could conclude that Akshay would probably be better off if he'd taken a different path.

[MK7Golf21]

16 minutes ago, golfday said:

They are definitely doing better, they're also a few years older and more importantly Hovland, Morikawa, and Wolff are the exception and not the rule. They're unicorns (esp. Hovland and Morikawa). Most great college players don't shoot out of a cannon to immediate success (and lots never have any access). I don't think they'd change their path, and I don't think Akshay would go back and change his. Anyone who wins on the KFT and makes the PGA Tour by 20 has it figured out.

 

This is the list of All-Americans from Hovland/Wolff/Morikawa's last year of college:

https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2019/06/21/college-golf-mens-all-americans/

 

Looking at that list and the success those players have had so far since college I don't think you could conclude that Akshay would probably be better off if he'd taken a different path.

 

again duh! Like I said going to college isn't guaranteed immediate success. 

 

Akshay was definitely a unicorn like Hovlland, Morikawa and Wolff. If you don't think so then you don't know his amateur golf resume. He struggled big time after turning pro and had backlash for not going to college because of how good he was in amateur golf. 

 

I'll fill you in on his amateur golf.

 

 

 

"For the better part of two years, Akshay Bhatia was the king of junior amateur golf, piling up an impressive collection of major victories while being a fixture on U.S. teams in international competitions.
 

 

As a 15-year-old, Bhatia won the 2017 Boys’ Junior Championship by three strokes with a 22-under par performance at the Country Club of St. Albans, where he shot 61 in the second round, eclipsing the course record by two strokes.

Four major wins followed in 2018, including the AJGA Polo Junior Classic, where he shot a course-record 7-under 64 in the second round en route to a 10-stroke victory. He also successfully defended his Boys’ Junior PGA Championship after he holed out a 40-foot chip shot for an eagle to win by one stroke and added victories at the Polo Golf Junior Classic and Junior Invitational at Sage Valley.

Bhatia began his 2019 season with a victory at the Jones Cup at the Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Ga. followed by a win at the Dustin Johnson World Junior at TPC Myrtle Beach, where he lapped the field for a six-stroke victory.

He went 3-0-0 at the 2017 Junior Presidents Cup and was part of victorious teams at the 2018 Junior Ryder and 2019 Walker Cup events.

 

At the end of the 2019 season, Bhatia, a slight of build lefthander of Indian descent, was the undisputed top-ranked player in the junior rankings and climbed to as high as No. 12 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Instead of extending his amateur career in college, the 17-year-old made the decision to turn professional.

He made his pro debut at the 2019 Sanderson Farms Championship and missed the cut in all six of his PGA Tour events. 

Welcome to the Tour, kid.

[MK7Golf21]

and if you want to compare stats, you would have to look at those who turned pro straight out of high school vs. those who at least went to some college golf and turned pro.

Edited January 21, 2022 by Redjeep83

[Ferguson]

After he fails at golf, he'll be selling his popsicle stick bridges on EBAY.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[vandyfan]

Akshay Bhatia anagram -- Aah, A bit shaky 

[jdl]

On 1/20/2022 at 11:39 AM, Redjeep83 said:

 

Thought PGA tour cards are awards to 25 top point leaders on regular korn ferry tour ending / 25 point leaders for korn ferry tour finals and not just winners? He got a bunch of points for the win but could easily tank for a series of tournaments and even out.

 

I'd like to see him on the pga tour but probably would of done much better going to college for a year or two with his talent. He tanked jumping up after high school.

A win doesn't guarantee a card but the points put him well over halfway there. 500 points and probably 800 is very likely to be inside the top 25. Make some cuts and a few more top 10s and he'll be there.

[MK7Golf21]

10 minutes ago, jdl said:

A win doesn't guarantee a card but the points put him well over halfway there. 500 points and probably 800 is very likely to be inside the top 25. Make some cuts and a few more top 10s and he'll be there.

 

yea and I think it's three wins on KFT to get pga card based on wins alone.

[Mitchell]

So a nice young man shows some perseverance and starts having some success and people are still critical? Guess those same folks never heard of early career of Justin Rose?

[jdl]

1 minute ago, Redjeep83 said:

 

yea and I think it's three wins on KFT to get pga card based on wins alone.

3 wins gets you the instant in-season promotion. And of course enough points for a card, too.

[golfday]

2 hours ago, Redjeep83 said:

 

again duh! Like I said going to college isn't guaranteed immediate success. 

 

Akshay was definitely a unicorn like Hovlland, Morikawa and Wolff. If you don't think so then you don't know his amateur golf resume. He struggled big time after turning pro and had backlash for not going to college because of how good he was in amateur golf. 

 

I'll fill you in on his amateur golf.

 

 

 

"For the better part of two years, Akshay Bhatia was the king of junior amateur golf, piling up an impressive collection of major victories while being a fixture on U.S. teams in international competitions.
 

 

As a 15-year-old, Bhatia won the 2017 Boys’ Junior Championship by three strokes with a 22-under par performance at the Country Club of St. Albans, where he shot 61 in the second round, eclipsing the course record by two strokes.

Four major wins followed in 2018, including the AJGA Polo Junior Classic, where he shot a course-record 7-under 64 in the second round en route to a 10-stroke victory. He also successfully defended his Boys’ Junior PGA Championship after he holed out a 40-foot chip shot for an eagle to win by one stroke and added victories at the Polo Golf Junior Classic and Junior Invitational at Sage Valley.

Bhatia began his 2019 season with a victory at the Jones Cup at the Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Ga. followed by a win at the Dustin Johnson World Junior at TPC Myrtle Beach, where he lapped the field for a six-stroke victory.

He went 3-0-0 at the 2017 Junior Presidents Cup and was part of victorious teams at the 2018 Junior Ryder and 2019 Walker Cup events.

 

At the end of the 2019 season, Bhatia, a slight of build lefthander of Indian descent, was the undisputed top-ranked player in the junior rankings and climbed to as high as No. 12 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Instead of extending his amateur career in college, the 17-year-old made the decision to turn professional.

He made his pro debut at the 2019 Sanderson Farms Championship and missed the cut in all six of his PGA Tour events. 

Welcome to the Tour, kid.

 

You said that he PROBABLY would have been better going the college route. I really don't see how you can think that PROBABLY would have been better than winning on the KFT as a teenager. It's certainly possible that he could have been better, but PROBABLY is a large overstatement. Seems you're not that great with probabilities and don't understand how incredible what he's doing is - the only three teenagers to win on the KFT are Jason Day, Sungjae Im, and Akshay Bhatia; what he just did is amazing! Even if you want to compare him only to Wolff, Hovland, and Morikawa - he will, in all likelihood, have a tour card at the same age that Wolff and Hovland got theirs, and at a younger age than Morikawa got his.... but somehow he'd probably be better off if he could get in a time machine and do things differently.

[Krt22]

2 hours ago, Redjeep83 said:

and if you want to compare stats, you would have to look at those who turned pro straight out of high school vs. those who at least went to some college golf and turned pro.

He has good company being the 3rd youngest to ever win on the KFT. Criticizing his career path after he has won on the KFT (where he beat multiple tour winners) doesn't make much sense, he has essentially already proved himself.

 

There are tons of all american college golfers who never win on the KFT, let alone get close to getting their PGA tour card (including some of his walker cup team mates who were much older and went the full college route).  Just about every person who wins a single KFT event ultimately ends up in the Top 25 and secures a card. He has 20+ events to scrap together 300 or so points, I think he will be just fine

[MK7Golf21]

Just now, Krt22 said:

He has good company being the 3rd youngest to ever win on the KFT. Criticizing his career path after he has won on the KFT (where he beat multiple tour winners) doesn't make much sense, he has essentially already proved himself.

 

There are tons of all american college golfers who never win on the KFT, let alone get close to getting their PGA tour card (including some of his walker cup team mates who were much older and went the full college route).  Just about every person who wins a single KFT event ultimately ends up in the Top 25 and secures a card. He has 20+ events to scrap together 300 or so points, I think he will be just fine

 

Yea, he just won and that is great but he also struggled big time since turning pro up until this win. Scar tissue comes with that that could possibly be avoided had he gone to college and matured a bit is all I'm saying. All that is in hindsight, just voicing my opinion.

 

Look at rookie QB's who are huge talents and get drafted 1st by crappy teams and get thrown into NFL as starter right away. There are many cases of this ruining the talent by being thrown head first into the fray and they never reach their potential.

 

Good for him for finally getting a win but it was risky.

 

 

[Krt22]

7 hours ago, Ferguson said:

 

 

 

My claim is irrefutable Fergie! 

[oikos1]

13 minutes ago, Redjeep83 said:

 

Yea, he just won and that is great but he also struggled big time since turning pro up until this win. Scar tissue comes with that that could possibly be avoided had he gone to college and matured a bit is all I'm saying. All that is in hindsight, just voicing my opinion.

 

Look at rookie QB's who are huge talents and get drafted 1st by crappy teams and get thrown into NFL as starter right away. There are many cases of this ruining the talent by being thrown head first into the fray and they never reach their potential.

 

Good for him for finally getting a win but it was risky.

 

 

The whole pro golf thing is risky.  Usually you second guess someone's decisions after they have clearly failed.  He's nowhere close to that right now.

[MK7Golf21]

3 minutes ago, oikos1 said:

The whole pro golf thing is risky.  Usually you second guess someone's decisions after they have clearly failed.  He's nowhere close to that right now.

 

People have been second guessing his decision the past two years in his struggles to even make cuts. He gets a win in one of the weakest KFT events and everyone is thinking he is Tiger woods coming to PGA tour now.

[Krt22]

1 minute ago, Redjeep83 said:

 

Yea, he just won and that is great but he also struggled big time since turning pro up until this win. Scar tissue comes with that that could possibly be avoided had he gone to college and matured a bit is all I'm saying. All that is in hindsight, just voicing my opinion.

 

Look at rookie QB's who are huge talents and get drafted 1st by crappy teams and get thrown into NFL as starter right away. There are many cases of this ruining the talent by being thrown head first into the fray and they never reach their potential.

 

Good for him for finally getting a win but it was risky.

 

 

What is this scar tissue you keep referring to? If the "scar tissue" was a real issue, he never would have won.  If the "Scar tissue" is missing cuts, well plenty of his would be classmates/walker cup team mates/former US am winners/runner ups have faced just as much adversity (if not more). Tons of them have gone through the full college route and it still takes them 2-3 years to establish themselves on even the KFT. The fact that he has already won and realistically will still get stronger (and perhaps a bit taller) in the next few years puts him in a very good position to outpace almost all of his would be potential classmates had he gone the college route. 

[lefty1978]

5 minutes ago, Redjeep83 said:

He gets a win in one of the weakest KFT events and everyone is thinking he is Tiger woods coming to PGA tour now.

Literally nobody has said that. Keep digging.

[BloctonGolf11]

Good for the kid but he is still an example of an illogical and idiotic path for juniors regardless of talent. Is he probably going to be able to make a great living off golf? At this point most likely; however, a ton of those winnings from that win will go to costs so lets not count him as a roaring success yet. However, if he flames out he has virtually no fall back plan. Go to college, get a degree or close to it, make connections. It is not going to hold your career back and only helps. 

Edited January 21, 2022 by BloctonGolf11

[oikos1]

11 minutes ago, BloctonGolf11 said:

Good for the kid but he is still an example of an illogical and idiotic path for juniors regardless of talent. Is he probably going to be able to make a great living off golf? At this point most likely; however, a ton of those winnings from that win will go to costs so lets not count him as a roaring success yet. However, if he flames out he has virtually no fall back plan. Go to college, get a degree or close to it, make connections. It is not going to hold your career back and only helps. 

What?  Are you sitting at the family dinner table.  How could you possibly know this?

[BloctonGolf11]

5 minutes ago, oikos1 said:

What?  Are you sitting at the family dinner table.  How could you possibly know this?

An online HS degree, he was homeschooled for golf, and no college degree. Not exactly a plethora of great options off those credentials. He went all in on pro golf and it may work out but what is the harm in going to college for a few years, building connections and a degree. I know the solitary knight is romantic and all but it is not a wise choice. 

[Forged4life]

42 minutes ago, BloctonGolf11 said:

An online HS degree, he was homeschooled for golf, and no college degree. Not exactly a plethora of great options off those credentials. He went all in on pro golf and it may work out but what is the harm in going to college for a few years, building connections and a degree. I know the solitary knight is romantic and all but it is not a wise choice. 

I’m sure he really cares about your opinion. 

[MK7Golf21]

27 minutes ago, Forged4life said:

I’m sure he really cares about your opinion. 

 

that's the good thing about the internet, we are allowed to freely voice our opinion. 

 

I remember when he made that choice back then and one of his main reasons was because he said he never really liked school, lol. He is definitely in the minority with his decision, not many with his talents do that.

[jdl]

1 hour ago, Redjeep83 said:

 

 

he beat a bunch of nobody's. 

 

Lets see how he does on the pga tour in the next season. If he is not one of the young guns like Morikawa, wolff and Hovland winning pga events then I think he underachieved for his talent. He was right there with those guys in junior golf.

A "bunch of nobody's [sic]"? You may want to stop digging at some point when you're starting to hit solid rock. Plenty of guys in the field who've been on the PGA tour and even won tournaments there. It's the path he has to take to get where he wants to go.

[MK7Golf21]

Just now, jdl said:

A "bunch of nobody's [sic]"? You may want to stop digging at some point when you're starting to hit solid rock. Plenty of guys in the field who've been on the PGA tour and even won tournaments there. It's the path he has to take to get where he wants to go.

 

They are on the KFT for a reason. This ain't 2010 

[Gsea]

Kid's 19 kicking out his territory, playing golf for living, making money and you all would give your right nut to have done that at 19.

[jdl]

5 minutes ago, Redjeep83 said:

 

They are on the KFT for a reason. This ain't 2010 

The reason being....

 

 

 

11 minutes ago, jdl said:

. It's the path he has to take to get where he wants to go.

 

[Gsea]

https://nypost.com/2022/01/21/rising-golf-star-ahskay-bhatia-met-his-caddy-and-girlfriend-by-sliding-into-her-dms/

[Forged4life]

6 minutes ago, jdl said:

The reason being....

 

 

 

 

There’s no Q school anymore 

[StudentGolfer4]

I know it’s not commonly done but I don’t know that college golf helps prepare or you for the PGA Tour. 
 

College basketball absolutely doesn’t prepare guys for the NBA. I won’t even mention all of the individual sports where going to college is the exception and not the rule. Why should we think that golf is different? 

The fact that both Hovland and Wolff left school early doesn’t really help the argument that guys need to go to college to prepare themselves for the next level. 
 

 

Edited January 21, 2022 by StudentGolfer4