Scottsdale, Feb 9 Akshay Bhatia produced a steady 4-under 68 to quietly climb into a tied-third finish at the WM Phoenix Open, while fellow Indian-American Sahith Theegala (70) suffered late heartbreak with a bogey on the 72nd hole to end tied-18th, a result that initially appeared to cost him a place in the next two USD 20 million Signature Events.
Relief followed later in the evening for Theegala. On the back of two Top-10s and two other Top-20 finishes in his last four starts, he received a sponsor exemption for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the first of the two upcoming Signature Events. While he still missed out on automatic qualification for both limited-field tournaments, the exemption ensured his strong early-season form will carry into Pebble Beach.
At the top of the leaderboard, Chris Gotterup produced a stunning late charge, birdieing five of his final six holes to post the clubhouse target at 16-under after a closing 7-under 64. Gotterup then spent a long wait on the practice range as Hideki Matsuyama, holding a one-shot lead, came to the 18th. Matsuyama bogeyed the closing hole to drop into a playoff.
The playoff was decided swiftly. Matsuyama again found trouble off the tee on the 18th, mirroring his wayward drive in regulation. Gotterup seized the moment, rolling in a 27-foot birdie putt to seal his second victory of the 2026 season and the fourth of his career. Matsuyama, who had won back-to-back WM Phoenix Opens in 2016 and 2017, was left to rue another late slip at TPC Scottsdale.
Bhatia’s week was a timely response after back-to-back missed cuts coming into Phoenix. Staying largely under the radar, he signed for five birdies against a lone bogey in the final round to secure a podium finish and inject confidence ahead of the high-stakes Signature Event stretch. The result underlined his growing comfort on demanding setups and his ability to contend when the scoring tightens.
Another Indian-origin player in the field, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, closed with a 73 to finish Tied-54th.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor