Akshay Bhatia only three-putted once all week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, but it arrived at the worst possible time - on the 72nd hole as he was looking to force a playoff with Cameron Davis.
Heading down 18 at Detroit Golf Club knowing par would earn him an extra chance to pick up a third PGA Tour title, Bhatia found the left side of the green with his approach while the flag was some 30 feet away and a little downhill on the opposite side.
Failing to lag his birdie attempt up to within tap-in range, Bhatia was ultimately left with a nasty four-foot slider from left to right for his par. For the first time all tournament, Bhatia failed to sink a putt from inside six feet.
"It sucks, no other way to put it. I mean, just sucks," said Bhatia afterwards when asked about the crucial shot. Meanwhile, almost the first words out of Davis' mouth when asked about his own win were: "I wouldn't wish what happened to Akshay on anyone..."
The Valero Texas Open champion back in April, Bhatia's putting has been well above average on the PGA Tour this season (30th SG:Putting) and he has generally improved as the week has progressed, too.
Winning is hard. The first miss inside 6 feet this week for Akshay Bhatia leads to bogey and a victory for Cam Davis. pic.twitter.com/MeifeElEsmJune 30, 2024
Moving from 100th in the putts-per-round category on Thursday to 85th on Friday, Bhatia has regularly fired his broom-handled putter up at the weekend - sitting 11th in the same category during round three on 31st in the closing round.
For three-putt avoidance, Bhatia is 41st among his PGA Tour peers, making only 26 from 1,188 holes in 2024 (2.19%).
But an uncharacteristic error on the 18th last Sunday meant the chance to secure his second victory of 2024 passed by.
Explaining how his first putt came up so much shorter than he would have liked, Bhatia admitted nerves got the better of him but insists he still knows how to close out a tournament.
He said: "Yeah, I mean, it's hard, you've got so much slope there so you don't want to run it five, six feet by. Yeah, just a little bit of nerves, honestly. I'm human and yeah, the greens get slower throughout the day here, poa annua's pretty tough.
"Hit a lot of good shots down the stretch, so yeah, I mean, I know how to close a golf tournament, I've done it before, just today wasn't my day."
The 22-year-old star has enjoyed a superb campaign so far, racking up 11 top-25s from his 20 starts and improving on the previous week's result in each of his past six appearances.
Should he go one better next time out, he will be a Major champion. Bhatia is set to take two weeks off before travelling to Scotland for the Open Championship at Royal Troon.
While obviously disappointed after Sunday's near miss, Bhatia knows his game is in a great spot.
He said: "[I'm] playing good golf, doing a lot of good things, so just kind of get ready for The Open and hopefully I can put myself in position once again."
