That happened to Bhatia on Saturday, when he bogeyed four of the last six holes. On Sunday, he had an early double-bogey after making a mess of the par-4 third hole, but was steady for much of the round, with three birdies and two bogeys for a 283 total, 3 over par for the Open.

Bryson DeChambeau, with a 71 and 274 total, won the back-nine battle Sunday with Rory McIlroy to win the title for a second time. Bhatia was paired with Russell Henley, whose 67 tied for low score of the day as Henley tied for seventh.

Bhatia, who did not play college golf and turned pro at 17, picked up a PGA Tour win this year at the Valero Texas Open in early April. That got him into the Masters and the PGA Championship — he tied for 35th at Augusta and missed the cut in the PGA.. Bhatia tied for 57th in the 2021 U.S. Open, his first major.

Bhatia, 34th in the World Golf Rankings as he came to Pinehurst, said one goal this year is to earn a spot on the Presidents Cup team for the U.S. Twelve players will make the team, and Bhatia stood 18th in points before the U.S. Open

“I’d love to do that but I’ve got to play a little better, especially in the majors,” he said. “There’s one more major to come by and I look forward to prepping for that and trying to get my hands on the trophy.”

That would be the Claret Jug, given to the British Open champion. The Open will be played July 18-21 at Royal Troon in Scotland.

“It was great to get into a major,” Bhatia said as he prepared to leave Pinehurst. “This is where I want to be, this is what I want to contend in. This is the first feelings of almost being there, and it was cool to experience that.”

____

©2024 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.