Chip Alexander: US Open experience leaves Akshay Bhatia with 'bitter taste'

Akshay Bhatia was smiling but it was almost like it hurt to smile.

“I’m very disappointed,” he said Sunday.

Even at 22 and playing his first U.S. Open, Bhatia expected better of himself. The left-handed pro from Wake Forest likes the No. 2 course at Pinehurst, which he said has its own aura about it. He believed he could play well on it, even in major championship conditions that can be so beguiling.

When Bhatia drained a 70-foot birdie putt on the front nine Saturday, he was under par for the tournament and just a few shots out of the U.S. Open lead. But No. 2 ultimately was the winner, Bhatia finishing with a 3-over 73 in the third round and then a 71 on Sunday.

It was Bhatia’s first top-20 finish in a major, tying for 16th place. It also was one he did not like.

“It’s obviously my best finish in a major this year, but there’s a bitter taste in my mouth from how I played,” Bhatia said in an interview outside the Pinehurst clubhouse. “My finish yesterday and today … it was kind of a weird day. I’m looking forward to another opportunity like this.”

Several golfers at the Open, including world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, said they hit the ball reasonably well but did not like their putting or play around the greens. On No. 2 in the Open, with the greens dry and firm and rolling 13 on the Stimpmeter, things had to be precise and many shots pure to get good scoring chances.

Bhatia was just the opposite.

“Nah,” he said. “I felt I swung it not great this week. I was hitting a lot of draws, which I don’t normally hit, but that was the only shot I could really hit.

“It’s just weird. To get on this type of golf course, in this type of test, makes you hit shots you don’t hit, typically,” he said. “In (PGA) Tour events, normally, we have bigger margins for error. This week it’s small margins and it can get away from you quick.”

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