By ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Akshay Bhatia nearly celebrated too soon Sunday, April 7, hurting his left shoulder while pumping his arms on a 12-foot birdie to force a playoff. He recovered to make birdie on the first extra hole and win the Texas Open over hard-luck Denny McCarthy to earn a trip to the Masters.
McCarthy was six shots behind going to the back nine at the TPC San Antonio when he birdied eight of the nine holes — including the last seven — making a 12-foot birdie for a 9-under 63. Bhatia had to make his birdie putt from the same range to have a chance.
He made it for a 67, raising his arms to shake them in his clutch moment. And that’s when he felt his shoulder — which he says has given him trouble before — pop out of its socket.
Bhatia hit his tee shot and laid up with a 5-iron on the par-5 18th in the playoff.
McCarthy, winless on the PGA Tour, was first to play and chunked a wedge so badly that he immediately hung his head. The ball came up some 20 yards short into the middle of a creek.
And then Bhatia called for treatment, jogging off the course briefly to get his shoulder taped. He returned and hit wedge to 6 feet. Needing three putts to win, he holed it to win for the second time on the PGA Tour.
The 22-year-old Bhatia won at the Barracuda Championship last summer. It was held opposite the British Open, so it didn’t get him into the Masters. This one did, and it came 10 years after Bhatia played in the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals at the home of the Masters. McCarthy had already earned his spot from finishing in the top 50 in the world last year.
Rory McIlroy closed with a 66 to finish alone in third, nine shots back.
