Cameron Davis shares what he thought Akshay Bhatia may do with first putt on 18 at Rocket Mortgage Classic

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Cameron Davis has revealed what he thought Akshay Bhatia may do with his first putt on the 18th hole on Sunday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

As Akshay Bhatia approached the final green at Detroit Golf Club, he may have known that a birdie would have won him the tournament while a two-putt would have forced a play-off with Cameron Davis.

The 22-year-old was faced with a long putt, and the greens had been causing problems for many of the players throughout the day, so what happened next was potentially not particularly surprising to many of those following the event closely.

Bhatia managed to get his first putt to within a few feet of the hole, but he then managed to roll his second putt just past to hand Davis his second victory at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Cameron Davis shares what he thought Akshay Bhatia would do with first putt on 18

Davis suggested that he was shocked to win – his first title on the PGA Tour in three years. And speaking in his press conference after, the 29-year-old hinted that Bhatia winning it on the 18th seemed more likely to him than a three-putt.

“A lot of empathy, it worked out in my favour in ’21 as well, I had the exact same putt to win the tournament, it feels like, that slidey, little downhill putt, and the greens are a little bumpy but you can’t hit it firm,” he said.

“I know what it’s like to see that putt miss when it’s to win or to get into a play-off. He played so well as well, I was ready for a play-off, I was looking forward to a play-off, I didn’t even consider that he was going to miss that putt, let alone miss the first putt, I was almost expecting him to roll that one in, you just have to expect it if you’re in that situation.”

Final green overshadowed really solid back nine from Bhatia

Bhatia had managed to produce some real consistency in the first eight holes of the back nine, as many around him faltered at various stages. The youngster made eight pars to give himself a great chance to go on and win the event.

Unfortunately, the pressure seemed to get to Bhatia on that final green, and he will now probably replay that second putt over and over again in his mind.

But, just like Rory McIlroy at the US Open, when what appeared an outstanding chip on the last actually left him in a tricky position, Bhatia will perhaps feel that the shot before that second putt was just as culpable in denying him victory.