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Akshay Bhatia: The Drive, Chip and Putt Kid Has Come a Long Way

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Brendon Elliott | Last updated Dec 5, 2025 8:57 PM ET

There's something poetic about watching Akshay Bhatia stand in a five-way tie for the lead at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas this week. At just 23 years old, he's sharing the top of the leaderboard with Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, and J.J. Spaun, all at 10-under through two rounds. But what makes this moment particularly special isn't just the company he's keeping or the quality of golf he's playing. It's the journey that brought him here.

Because if you rewind the tape far enough, you'll find a 12-year-old kid standing on the pristine grounds of Augusta National Golf Club in 2014, competing in the finals of the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship. That kid was Akshay Bhatia, and even then, you could see something different in his eyes: a hunger, a confidence, a belief that he belonged on golf's biggest stages.

Fast forward a decade, and that belief has been validated in the most beautiful way possible. In April 2024, Bhatia won the Valero Texas Open in a playoff over Denny McCarthy, earning his ticket to the Masters Tournament. In doing so, he became the first-ever Drive, Chip and Putt finalist to compete in the Masters as a professional. Think about that for a moment. The same grounds where he once showcased his junior golf skills became the site of his arrival as a legitimate PGA TOUR contender.

It's the kind of full-circle story that gives you goosebumps.

But Bhatia's path to this point has been anything but conventional. While his peers were heading off to college golf programs to develop their games and delay adulthood, Bhatia made the bold decision to turn professional at just 17 years old in 2019. No safety net. No four years of collegiate competition to fall back on. Just raw talent, unwavering self-belief, and a willingness to bet on himself when the odds weren't exactly in his favor.

"I think that I don't really realize how young I am," Bhatia said Friday at the Hero World Challenge. "This week I'm the youngest player in the field."

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It's a revealing admission from someone who often carries himself like a seasoned veteran. At 23, Bhatia has already lived through six years as a professional golfer, grinding through mini-tours, earning his way onto the Korn Ferry Tour, and eventually breaking through on the PGA TOUR. He's won twice on TOUR, including that emotional victory at the Barracuda Championship in 2023 and the Texas Open triumph that punched his Masters ticket.

But 2025 hasn't been without its challenges. Bhatia has been candid about the mental fatigue that comes with life on TOUR, the pressure of expectations, and the struggle to find balance when golf threatens to consume everything. After a strong finish in the FedExCup Playoffs, he took a step back this fall, playing just twice and spending quality time with his fiancée, Presleigh Schultz.

"The life stuff is harder for me than anticipated," he admitted in a recent interview.

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It's that kind of honesty that makes Bhatia so relatable, so human. In a sport that often demands perfection and stoicism, he's willing to acknowledge the weight of it all. He's learning, in real-time, how to separate his identity from his scorecard, how to find happiness when things aren't going well, not just when he's contending for titles.

And he's looking to the right role models. Bhatia often references Scottie Scheffler, not just for his dominance on the course, but for the balance he's found in life. "One thing I ask myself, which I think is important, is 'What was Scottie doing at 23?'" Bhatia said. "Look where he is now."

It's a healthy perspective for someone who turned pro as a teenager and has been living in fast-forward ever since. Bhatia is learning to slow down, to appreciate the journey, to understand that a career in professional golf is a marathon, not a sprint.

"I just try and remind myself that no matter how hard or easy certain things feel, it's a long career," he said. "I was talking to Rickie (Fowler), it's his 17th year coming up, and it's really amazing to process that for me because I feel like I've been out here for a long time and I'm not even close."

As Bhatia heads into the weekend at the Hero World Challenge, tied for the lead in one of golf's most prestigious unofficial events, it's worth pausing to appreciate how far he's come. From that 12-year-old at Augusta National to a two-time PGA TOUR winner competing against the best players in the world, his journey has been remarkable.

But here's the thing: he's just getting started. At 23, with his best golf still ahead of him, Akshay Bhatia is proof that sometimes the boldest paths lead to the most rewarding destinations. The Drive, Chip and Putt kid has come a long way — and something tells me he's got a lot further to go.