Akshay Bhatia is one of the future stars of golf.
At just 21 years of age, Bhatia recently recorded a career-best finish with a runner-up at the Puerto Rico Open, good for $414,000 and enough FedEx Cup points to earn Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour. He might be young, but the future is bright for Bhatia.
Even though he’s been a pro for just three short years, Bhatia has already had the chance to play alongside some of the best players in the game. And while everyone is good in the pro-golf ranks, there are some talents that stand out more than others.
“I’ve played with Phil [Mickelson] a lot,” Bhatia said on this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar. “Obviously he’s one of the greatest players of all time. His short game is just nuts. Absolutely nuts. Some of the shots he can hit, it’s like mind-blowing.”
Mickelson is an obvious choice for most-impressive players in the game, but there was another contemporary player Bhatia also cited in the interview.
“I remember I played in Mayakoba where Viktor [Hovland] won,” Bhatia said. “And I played with him on Saturday, and he did not miss a shot. He bogeyed the first hole and I think he shot eight under. I was like, ‘This guy is like, nuts.'”
For more from Bhatia, check out the entire episode below.