U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2024

June 14, 2024

Akshay Bhatia

Pinehurst Resort & C.C. (Course No. 2)

Quick Quotes

Q. Walk us through your round. You're 1-under for the tournament.

AKSHAY BHATIA: Yeah, it was a little tougher start to the day. I missed a couple short putts and wasn't feeling too great about my golf swing. But managed to kind of stay patient, make a lot of pars, and thankfully didn't go birdie free.

Q. Seven up-and-downs on the last nine holes. The way this course is playing right now, those pars have to feel pretty good, especially the one about six feet on 9 for par there.

AKSHAY BHATIA: No, it was good. Short game is really good right now, and that's what you need to stay in U.S. Opens and major championships.

Yeah, it was nice. I felt like I was really feeling and seeing every chip. It was nice I made a really good putt on 3 to keep the momentum going; otherwise, it could have been a different story.

Q. Do you like U.S. Open setups, or do you prefer tournaments with a lot of birdies?

AKSHAY BHATIA: I love this golf. You're hitting it in the middle of greens and making pars is fun. I think it takes a lot more discipline, and it takes just a lot more intention on where you're trying to hit it and where you're trying to miss it. It's a lot different than just birdie fests.

Q. Where do you feel like your creativity and touch around the greens, where did you learn that from, and do you have any stories from when you were younger about your ball in some rocks trying to get up-and-down?

AKSHAY BHATIA: No, I mean, I've always had a pretty good short game, and then it didn't translate as well once I got on Tour. There's so many different variety of lies. I just started working with a short game coach this year, and the amount of shots and understanding lies and situations he puts me in, just he makes it a lot of fun, but then it makes me gain more and more confidence.

Especially out here you're hitting the same shot for me, so it's just a matter of telling where the grain is on the green and then seeing how aggressive I can be.