'Glad I Didn't Shoot 80' - Akshay Bhatia's Nightmare Start To Indian Debut Puts Focus On Unusual Masters Prep

The long journey to India seemed like a waste of time for Akshay Bhatia after a nightmare front nine left him reeling in his Hero Indian Open debut.

The Californian's parents hail from Delhi where DLF Golf & Country Club is located so he was keen to play in the homeland of his family as he finishes off his preparations for The Masters.

But after a calamitous nine holes Bhatia was in all sorts of bother having hit his own ball out of bounds, somehow managed to hit the wrong ball and also made a triple bogey.

That saw the left-hander making his turn at eight over as a tough course showcased its ferocity, but credit to the American as he kept his head in the game to shoot three under on his back nine.

Bhatia raised a few eyebrows by going to India instead of taking in one of the usual pre-Masters prep events in Texas, so he'll hope to get four rounds out of his journey to avoid it being a costly mistake.

"Glad I didn't shoot 80," was how Bhatia summed up his day, where he ended on five over par after his round of 77 and with some serious work to do to make the cut for the weekend.

Bhatia was up against it right out of the gate as he hit his ball out of bounds on his opening hole, which was the 10th as he started on the back nine.

He then managed to hit the wrong ball later in his poor first nine holes, which included two double bogeys and a triple bogey, at the 15th.

The World No.22 has shown plenty of grit and determination in his game though and he knuckled down to produce a flawless 33 on what is the front nine of the course at DLF to sign for a 77.

"Tough day, hit the wrong ball, which was very unfortunate," said Bhatia. "Just did not play good on the first nine but shot three under on my back side was great.

"This golf course is hard so if I can just try and get it back to even par it'll be a nice comeback for me. I'll never give up and that'll be the goal."

Bhatia still described making the trip to India as "such a blessing" and he'll be determined to play all four rounds to get the very most out of the journey with The Masters just around the corner.

As the 24-year-old has shown some great form this season, certainly enough to suggest he could challenge for a Green Jacket at Augusta National.

He started 2026 with two missed cuts but has since been brilliant with a win, a third and a lowest finish of T16.

Bhatia beat Daniel Berger in a play-off to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational which in itself is a huge win but is also a sign of great play on a tough course and also very solid mental toughness.

And the victory also came with a record +16.3 strokes gained for his short game, the most ever since ShotLink started.

Making the trip to India this close to The Masters has been seen as a risk by some, but if he can play all four rounds on what is a tough track, away from the hype on the PGA Tour then it could be ideal prep for Bhatia.

And left-handers do have a decent record of success at Augusta - even though as yet Bhatia is yet to get to grips with Major championship golf but has at least made the cut in his two trips down Magnolia Lane.