CNN
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Shirtless and mud-spattered – golf followers tuning in to the Honda Basic on Saturday would have been forgiven for pondering they’d converted to the unsuitable channel.
As a result of not simply as soon as, however twice throughout his third spherical, American golfer Akshay Bhatia was pressured into an impromptu wardrobe change on the PGA Nationwide Resort in Palm Seaside, Florida.
The primary got here on the sixth gap, when the 21-year-old’s tee drive settled within the muddy banks on the left of the green. A shirtless shot adopted as Bhatia efficiently scooped his ball again onto the green, the splashes of mud throughout his chest suggesting that the shirt elimination was a smart move.
An excellent method and putt noticed the world No. 357 save par fantastically, but regardless of the perfect efforts of his caddie and a towel, the opening had left its mark on Bhatia. Fortuitously, his girlfriend was readily available with a change of garments, and the golfer pushed on together with his spherical.
Bhatia had been driving the wave of a wonderful second spherical, however successfully noticed any probability of a primary PGA Tour victory collapse throughout 4 holes. A run of bogey, par, double bogey and bogey noticed Bhatia arrive on the par-three fifteenth gap needing a giant response, just for his tee shot to sail over the flag and into the swampy space behind the inexperienced.
Nearly knee deep within the mud, this time it was shirt and sneakers off for Buhai. Sadly, he couldn’t repeat his earlier escape effort, as his first try barely moved a yard.
Buhai ultimately tapped in for one more painful double bogey, later carding a four-over par 74 for the spherical, but the American was cheered again to the clubhouse by followers.
“Plenty of claps. Makes you are feeling good,” Buhai advised reporters. “I really feel like my physique seems to be good, and hopefully on TV it makes it look a bit larger.
“It was wonderful. This can be a fairly new expertise for me. Simply having plenty of followers. It’s humorous, [playing partner] Dylan [Frittelli] was saying, ‘Are you from right here? Like how a lot are you paying these guys to say your identify?’ And it’s simply actually cool as a result of I take plenty of pleasure.
“It brings heat to my coronary heart when individuals are shouting my identify, cheering me on. It’s actually only a enjoyable expertise, and I hope to have extra of it.”
A last day 69 noticed Bhatia end tied forty ninth, 13 photographs behind champion Chris Kirk. Having secured victory on his first begin as a Korn Ferry Tour member on the Bahamas Nice Exuma Basic in January 2022 and making the minimize on his main debut on the US Open the earlier 12 months, Bhatia already has a number of profession highlights.
But his weird expertise in Florida has him conserving his choices open, in keeping with his most up-to-date Instagram submit.
“If golf doesn’t work out, would possibly give modeling a strive,” the caption learn.
