Bhatia, the American contender, had been a model of consistency throughout the event but stumbled with costly errors on the final stretch, bogeying his way to a loss against the 29-year old-Davis, who only recorded his second bogey of the week.
Davis' stellar 18-under par secured the multi-million dollar jackpot, marking a triumphant return to the winner's circle three years after his inaugural PGA Tour victory at the same tournament.
In an emotional address, Davis held back tears as he honored his 22-year-old adversary and opened up about his own recent struggles with mental health. "This is crazy," he exclaimed. "I wouldn't wish what happened to Akshay on anyone. But I've done a lot of grinding to get myself out of a hole and to all of a sudden do that, it's pretty good.
Fresh off his first tour win in a triennium, Davis candidly spoke about his sessions with a hypnotherapist and the mental hurdles he's overcome both in life and on the course. "I had a lot of support to get me out of the doldrums there.
"I saw a little bit of a spark last week but nothing to show this coming. I started working with a hypnotherapist a couple of weeks ago just to take another angle in trying to get myself sorted out."
"From where I was a couple of weeks ago until today, just a completely different person. I honestly haven't been in a very good place mentally at all for the last six months or so." I felt like all the opportunities have been slipping out of my hands as the year progresses without playing very good golf."
Davis achieved his career-best finish at a major last year when he tied for fourth in the PGA Championship, won by Brooks Koepka.
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