Askhay Bhatia found his way back on the right side of the Tour Championship cutline — if only temporarily — during Saturday’s third round of the BMW Championship, and he did so in stunning fashion.
Bhatia started the week at 29th in the FedEx Cup playoff standings, meaning he was eligible for the season finale at East Lake, but after an opening round of 75, it appeared he might be losing his grasp on a spot.
He fought back with a solid 69 on Friday, but then kick-started things on Saturday with a hole-out eagle on the par-4 7th.
After a birdie on No. 8 and then bogeys on Nos. 12 and 15, Bhatia rolled in a birdie on the 16th hole, and then made some real magic on the par-3 17th.
This shot on the 227-yard hole marked Bhatia’s first hole-in-one in PGA competition, and it came at an important time, pushing the California native into the top 30. It also earned Bhatia a new car — a BMW iX — and will provide a full four-year Evans Scholarship in his name to a deserving young caddie, presented by BMW of North America.
“I think it was like 213 or 214 hole. The wind was straight off the left, so it was a perfect 5-iron. I could draw it, which is nice. Again, that’s a hole you’re just trying to hit it front of the green to back of the green,” Bhatia said. “But I told myself just don’t be afraid to hit it, execute it, because it’s easy to bail out there. When that golf ball goes in, it was the craziest thing in the world. My caddie was pointing at the car and I’m like, don’t even know what to do. I couldn’t even feel my body.
“Still, even going to 18 tee was pretty nuts how much adrenaline I had.”
The 23-year-old Bhatia hit a rough patch this season and hadn’t recorded a top-10 finish since March when he came up a shot short of a playoff at the Players Championship. But an opening-round 62 at the FedEx St. Jude led to a T-6 last week in the first playoff event and the two-time PGA Tour winner played himself into the final group on Sunday at the 3M Open with a third-round 63 even though he faltered on the final day, shooting 75 to tumble to T-25.
As for his car situation, how does the new BMW play into his future?
“I mean, I’m not sure,” he said. “I don’t really necessarily need a new car: I’m pretty happy with what I’ve got. I think either I’ll give it to my caddie or figure something out to where I can donate it to charity or something.”

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