Akshay Bhatia Dominates Valero Texas Open with Flawless Round

In a remarkable display of golfing prowess, American prodigy Akshay Bhatia carded a sizzling nine-under-par 63 to take a commanding three-shot lead at the Valero Texas Open. Bhatia’s opening round performance was nothing short of flawless, as he navigated the challenging course without dropping a single shot.

The young golfer’s exceptional round was highlighted by:

Four birdies on the front nine
Astounding five birdies on the back nine, including four in his final five holes

Bhatia’s stellar play has placed him ahead of seasoned veterans Brendon Todd and Justin Lower, with fellow American Max Homa leading a group of four players two shots behind the leader.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, world number two, is tied for eighth place at three-under-par after a bogey-free round featuring three birdies. McIlroy, who recently had a lesson with Tiger Woods’ former coach Butch Harmon, expressed his satisfaction with the changes he has implemented in his game over the past few weeks.

“What I’ve been trying to do the last couple weeks is no different than what I’ve been trying to do previously; he just sort of gave me a different way to do it,” McIlroy said. “It’s just one of those things over the past few months that nothing was resonating with me. He gave me a tiny little something that I went with and, as I said, it’s felt a little better over the last two weeks and felt pretty good out there.”

A victory at next week’s Masters would see McIlroy join an exclusive group of golfers, including legends Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods, to have won all four major championships.

In other notable performances, three-time major winner Jordan Spieth salvaged a round of 73 with a hole-in-one on the par-three 16th hole.

🔗 Source