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VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP

March 22, 2019

Akshay Bhatia

Palm Harbor, Florida

Q. How would you describe what this week has been like for you?
AKSHAY BHATIA: Yeah, it was an unreal week, Tampa and the area this week, it was remarkable and to have so many fans support me, it's just something I've always dreamed of.

Q. What were the nerves and emotions like the past two days?
AKSHAY BHATIA: The first day I was definitely nervous, the first seven or eight holes I was not comfortable at all. Throughout the day I just wasn't comfortable, I'm just not used to the environment. Today I woke up, I didn't have any expectations, I just knew I needed to do what I needed to do. And I started out really well, I felt like I played pretty well, I just didn't drive the ball like I normally do and that hurts out here, especially.

Q. Playing alongside the best in the world, what do you take away from this as you competed against the best players on the PGA TOUR?
AKSHAY BHATIA: It's awesome to play against these guys and these guys do an unreal job playing this golf course because 6-under's a really good score out here. So it's just getting more experience out here and I'm on the right track and this start was unbelievable and to have Dustin and Sergio, Paul Casey, all these guys who played well here and had success on the PGA TOUR, it's nice and I've learned a lot.

Q. What did you learn these past two days?
AKSHAY BHATIA: The biggest thing I learned is I need to drive it better, really. I hit it pretty well this week and I putted decently well, but when you're playing from the rough or the trees it's not very fun and that's the hardest thing. Especially out here.

Q. Take us there you that start a little bit today. You got off to the start you were looking for.
AKSHAY BHATIA: Yeah, no, I started out really well, I felt very comfortable and after yesterday I was pretty nervous and wasn't comfortable the whole day and today I was very comfortable for most of the round, I was in it great and I was rolling my putts pretty good. So just towards the end I started hitting the driver wayward and I just doubled 9 and that kind of killed my momentum.

Q. Is that unusual for you? Is driver usually a good club?
AKSHAY BHATIA: Yeah, I mean I don't ever hit driver out of the fairway much, but out here it's just, it's likely to happen just because where the bunkers are, where the fairway, where your landing zone is it's so narrow and you have to hit a really good shot. But you can't have 220 into greens this firm, especially with some of the grain on the greens.

Q. What are your plans the next couple months? Are you going to stick to amateur stuff, try some Mondays?
AKSHAY BHATIA: No, I'm going to try and do a couple more Mondays and then I have one junior event, the Sage Valley, it's middle of April. But try Monday and get back out here, because that's the life I want to have.

Q. How much are you looking forward to defending there at Sage Valley?
AKSHAY BHATIA: Oh, it's going to be great. Sage is probably the best tournament I play all year and just the atmosphere there and to win there last year was great, so just to go back to somewhere I've won will be cool.

Q. How cool was it to hear Akshay called on 12 when you made that par putt.
AKSHAY BHATIA: Yeah, that was awesome. 12? I didn't make a par on 12.

Q. I'm sorry. Okay, but the fans reaction?
AKSHAY BHATIA: Yeah, no, it was great. I mean the people out here were just awesome and there's so many people supporting me and I wouldn't have imagined so many people trying to push me and it's just, I hope can I keep that going for my career.

Q. Is that the first time somebody sang the Akshay song to you?
AKSHAY BHATIA: No, that was sick. That was awesome. That was something I hope I will hear that at the Ryder Cup in five, six years down the road.

Q. Where was that? Where did you hear that?
AKSHAY BHATIA: On 12.

Q. They were singing?
AKSHAY BHATIA: It was like the Ole with the Europeans. It was Akshay. It was sick. That was dope.

Q. Given this experience, the next time you tee it up at a TOUR event do you think it will be a different comfort level?
AKSHAY BHATIA: Yeah, a hundred percent. The first day is always going to be so hard because I'm never going to -- I've never been in a situation like this and when you come out here, especially as a teenager, it's not easy to just overcome right away. So definitely the next time I feel like I'll tee it up a little better and I'll hit more fairways.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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