PGA Tour youngster gets compared to Tiger Woods after his performance at the Players Championship

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Given what a phenomenal event this year’s Players Championship has been, it is a big plus for golf fans to get at least three more holes of action at TPC Sawgrass on Monday, with Rory McIlroy set to face off with J.J. Spaun in a playoff.

An eventful weekend at the Players Championship culminated in J.J. Spaun having a putt to win the tournament and deny Rory McIlroy his second title at TPC Sawgrass. However, his putt came up agonisingly short – meaning that the pair would return on Monday.

Obviously, McIlroy was definitely the superstar name on the leaderboard. And when he led by three at one stage down the back nine, it appeared inevitable that he would get the job done. The question was would anyone be able to launch a late challenge?

Tom Hoge getting to the clubhouse at 10 under par felt as though it could be significant, with almost all of his work done before the weather delay. Meanwhile, Lucas Glover continued his impressive start to the year by reaching the same number.

PGA Tour youngster compared with Tiger Woods after the Players Championship

But it was another name on the leaderboard who must feel that he so nearly got himself into the playoff.

Akshay Bhatia finished two shots back of McIlroy and Spaun after making eight pars to finish his day. Bhatia had been tied for the lead at the halfway mark before struggling in the testing conditions on Saturday.

And had the putter been hot on Sunday, the 23-year-old almost certainly would have at least got to 12 under par. In fact, speaking on Golf Channel, Jaime Diaz was so impressed by Bhatia’s performance that he mentioned the youngster in the same conversation as the two greatest to ever play the game.

“Akshay, man, he was impressive. He reminded me of skinny Tiger, 18 years old, just on attack all the time,” he said.

“And I remember reading something Ben Hogan said about Jack Nicklaus after the 1960 Open at Cherry Hills, he said, ‘I played with a kid that should’ve won by 10 shots’. And you could almost see the way Akshay hit it that well, I thought he outplayed everybody really tee to green. And he was really on attack that was just a different sound. He was really flushing it.”

Akshay Bhatia one of the standout performers at TPC Sawgrass

It was impossible not to be impressed by Bhatia over the week. He has already won twice on the PGA Tour, and the signs suggest that win number three will not be too far away.

Perhaps he will need to learn when it is the right time to be a little less aggressive; Scottie Scheffler did not dominate 2024 by hunting down every single flag. But the bravery was quite something.

Bhatia gained more than five and a half shots with his approach play across the line, according to the PGA Tour website. Meanwhile, he was not far from the top 10 for strokes gained putting also.

And once the disappointment subsides, Bhatia can definitely reflect that he is flying down the right path at a rapid rate.