Will Akshay Bhatia be the PGA Tour's next big star?

In the end, Scheffler defeated Kim on the first playoff hole to notch his sixth win of the year. The 28-year-old became the first player since Tiger Woods in 2009 to post six wins in a season, and it's still June.

The victory only strengthens Scheffler's perch atop the World Golf Rankings, leaving golf fans to wonder who can challenge him in the coming years.

Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele will be part of that equation, as could Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm depending on what happens with the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

As for the game's younger stars, names such as Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa garner plenty of attention, with good reason.

But what about Bhatia? He's often an omission from such discussions, but his peers will tell you that's a mistake.

While preparing for the RBC Canadian Open in May, Sahith Theegala and Wesley Bryan filmed a match for the Bryan Bros YouTube channel. During the course of play, the conversation turned to Bhatia, and the comments were glowing.

"Akshay Bhatia will be world No. 1 at some point during his career. It might be sooner than we think," said Theegala, who's ranked 14th in the world. "I'm singing his praises because he deserves it. That guy, he's just that good."

"I'd 100% agree with that," Bryan added.

High praise indeed, as well as a heads-up for more casual golf fans who might not know Bhatia's name just yet.

Bhatia's story is interesting. After a standout junior career that included being selected to play on the 2019 United States Walker Cup team, Bhatia turned pro at 17, bypassing the opportunity to play college golf in favor of chasing his professional dream.

It hasn't always been easy. Bhatia endured tough times honing his game on various mini tours before earning his way onto the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2022 season. He made an immediate splash by winning the first event of the year, the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic.

Bhatia finished 30th on the Korn Ferry points list in 2022, which was not good enough to earn his PGA Tour card, but in early 2023, he gained entry into the PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open. A solo second finish earned him temporary membership status. A few months later, he won his first PGA Tour event at the Barracuda Championship.

Bhatia followed up that victory with another at the Valero Texas Open in April, and with his fifth-place finish in Hartford, he has earned more than $4.2M this season while moving to 15th on the FedEx Cup points list.

While the wait for victory No. 3 on the PGA Tour will be a bit longer than Bhatia hoped for after surging into contention over the weekend, chances are it won't be much of a wait.

And if you're looking for a breakout player who could challenge Scheffler for the top spot in the world in the years ahead, remember the name Akshay Bhatia.