Bhatia had two birdies in the first three holes and a bogey-birdie on the fourth and fifth. Then came a hat-trick of bogeys from the seventh to the ninth as he turned in one-over 36. On the back nine, he had the 12th, 14th and 15th and bogeyed the 13th, 17th and 18th
The Indian-American Bhatia sits tied third alongside Rickie Fowler, Colin Morikawa and Sepp Straka. Bhatia, who was third at the PLAYERS this year, is two behind the leader, Keith Mitchell (61) and one behind Denny McCarthy (62)
Veer Ahlawat had just two birdies against six bogeys in the opening round and is the only Indian playing this week as Shubhankar Sharma skipped the event
Indian-American Sahith Theegala, partnering another pro with an Indian touch, Aaron Rai, shot nine-under and the pair was tied-13th after the first day at the Zurich Classic. The pair was five shots behind PGA Tour rookies, Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo, who totalled 14-under.
Sahith Theegala and Akshay Bhatia have an added tag to their name this year with an Indian sponsorship from Hero, one of the biggest Indian backers of the sport in and out of the country
Indo-British Aaron Rai had a way better day and with 5-under 68 he was tied-10th with a fair start. Bhatia shot 2-under 71 and T-30 while Theegala, who was hit by a triple bogey, carded 3-over 76 at the Par-73 Plantation Course at Kapalua in Hawaii. Theegala was T-56. Japan's Matsuyama fired
Joaquin Niemann, The International Series Rankings champion for the 2024 season, is the latest big name to be confirmed for International Series India, the USD 2 million tournament taking place at DLF Golf and Country Club next month
The Crushers GC captain joins Indian team-mate Anirban Lahiri for the first of 10 elevated events on the 2025 Asian Tour calendar, with more marquee names to be unveiled for the tournament taking place at DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram
Scheffler won by six shots over Tom Kim, and it was the largest winning margin at Albany Golf Club and the biggest in the tournament history since the 10-shot margin of victory achieved by Jordan Spieth in 2014 at Isleworth
With seven birdies on the front nine, Scottie Scheffler seemed to be running away from the field at the 2024 World Challenge. Starting at 5-under his new putting grip seemed to work like magic as he birdied everything except two of the three Par-3s on the front nine
Cameron Young made a sensational return to action at the 2024 World Challenge with a bogey-free opening round of 64, giving him a two-shot lead over Justin Thomas (66), who made a late charge with four birdies in a row from the 14th
The fast-paced event had six competitors picked from the field of 20 who will play the main 72-hole event from December 5 to December 8. The tournament which has had an Indian, only once - Anirban Lahiri in 2016 in the field - will see three players of Indian origin in the field. They are Sa