Akshay Bhatia was at the top of the leaderboard, whether tied or solo, all throughout the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic.
But he three-putted Sunday evening from 32 feet on the 18th green, giving Cam Davis his second victory in four years at Detroit Golf Club at 18 under par.
Davis is the first two-time winner of Detroit’s flagship PGA Tour tournament that started in 2019. Bhatia had just one bogey through 71 holes, as he was looking for his second win on the PGA Tour this season and third of his career.
Instead, Davis’ steady play, including an up-and-down from just outside the bunker on the par-5 17th, and an up-and-down from the left rough on No. 18, was enough.
“Sucks,” Bhatia said minutes later in his news conference, arms crossed. “No other way to put it. Just sucks.”
Bhatia and Aaron Rai were tied for the lead at 17-under heading into the final day, with Davis and Cameron Young a shot back tied at 16-under. Rai briefly jumped into the lead, but Bhatia and Davis pulled ahead heading into the back 9. Bhatia jumped into the lead thanks to a Davis bogey on No. 14, then had Min Woo Lee reach 18-under then subsequently fall back to 17-under with a bogey on the final hole.
Bhatia can’t close
Bhatia played clean golf through the first 54 holes, not tallying a bogey through the first three days of the tournament to enjoy a shared lead heading into Sunday. He faced adversity early, including an up-and-down on the first hole and his first bogey of the tournament on No. 3 after duffing a chip on his third stroke to fall behind Rai early.
From there, he returned back to his mistake-free play, until the final hole. He sank a 31-foot birdie putt on No. 4 to immediately regain the stroke, then moved into a share of the lead with a birdie on No. 7 after reaching the greenside rough in two shots then sticking the chip inside four feet for a simple birdie.
He played holes 8-17 with 10 straight pars in the windy conditions. Lee and Davis both reached 18-under with birdies on No. 17.
Min Woo Lee rallies late, stumbles on 18
Two of the four players who finished tied for second shot up the leaderboard late Sunday. Min Woo Lee and Davis Thompson piled up the birdies in the final back nine to move into the crowded top of the leaderboard but failed to keep pace with Bhatia.
Lee sat at plus-1 on the day after a double bogey on No. 7 thanks to a four-putt but answered with a birdie on No. 9 then shot a 33 on the back nine to finish at 3-under for the day and 17-under for the tournament. He birdied the 17th hole to move into a tie for first place at 18-under with Bhatia but finished with a bogey after his approach shot went long on 18 and his chip for birdie ran through the green into the opposite rough.
Thompson had six birdies and two bogies to finish 4-under Sunday and move into the cluster at second place. He finished with three birdies in four holes between Nos. 13 and 17 to climb the leaderboard, including sticking his tee shot within three feet on No. 15 for a tap-in birdie in front of the grandstands. They finished tied for second with Rai and Davis.
Bhatia, Davis surge to lead at end of front 9
Rai held a lead for most of the front nine after he started the round with a birdie on the first hole, which grew to two shots by No. 3 after Bhatia bogeyed No. 3. But, things flipped beginning at No. 6. Rai and Bhatia drove side-by-side in the middle of the fairway, but Rai’s approach bounced off the green to the short side while Bhatia stuck it to 15 feet for a birdie attempt.
Rai bogeyed after leaving himself a 10-foot par putt, while Bhatia calmly two-putted for par to cut the lead to one. While that was happening, Davis was a hole ahead and birdied the par-5 seventh hole to jump into the sole lead, briefly, before Bhatia joined him with his own birdie on No. 7. Rai bogeyed No. 9 to fall two shots behind before the turn, leaving Bhatia and Davis alone at 18-under. Cam Young, playing with Davis, recovered from an early bogey with two pars on Nos. 8 and 9 to pull within one shot of the lead for the final nine holes.
Top amateur finishes strong
Luke Clanton, a 20-year-old amateur who is currently enrolled at Florida State, finished his tournament tied for 10th with a score of 14-under. He followed up his 65 on Saturday, the lowest score of the third round, with an even-par round of 72 to finish his first PGA Tour event outside of a major.
Clanton will take home no prize money from the tournament because of his amateur status coming into the tournament, leaving six figures on the table after tying for 10th in the tournament.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Cam Davis wins Rocket Mortgage Classic on shocking Akshay Bhatia 3-putt
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