PGA Tour rising star sets sights on Open Championship glory to resume American dominance

PGA Tour phenom Akshay Bhatia is dreaming of continuing the United States’ dominance in The Open Championship at Royal Troon and taking the Claret Jug back with him across the pond.

The 22-year-old Los Angeles native is among the tour’s brightest young stars, with two victories to his name over the past 12 months - including this season’s Texas Valero Open.

The US has a rich history at Royal Troon on the west coast of Scotland, with six successive winners – including Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson – before Henrik Stenson’s record-breaking victory as he edged out Phil Mickelson in 2016.

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Bhatia is among a pool of young talents being tipped to make a big impression this week, with The Open proving to be one of the most unpredictable majors in recent years. Ten different men have lifted the Claret Jug over the past decade and Bhatia told Mirror Sports US he cannot wait to begin the challenge on Thursday

“I’m excited. Everyone dreams about playing major championships and winning them, so it’s definitely a goal to be in contention in one,” the world No. 26 said. “It’s the last one of the year so hopefully I can do that and it would be great to experience those feelings.

“It would be very cool to bring a trophy like that back to the US, so hopefully I can do it, but if not, I hope somebody else can.

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“It’s going to be an awesome test. We’ve got a mix of really good weather and not-so-good weather, so I’m excited for how the golf course is going to play and I know it’s going to be a challenge.”

The omens are good for left-handed Bhatia. Fellow lefty Brian Harman is the reigning Open champion after his runaway victory at Royal Liverpool a year ago, and Mickelson played one of the greatest tournaments in a losing call on this turf eight years ago.

A scintillating final round of 65 was not enough for the American to claim the Claret Jug for a second time as Stenson carded a sublime 63 – the round of his career. The field trailed in their wake, with J.B. Holmes finishing an incredible 11 shots behind Mickelson in a distant third place.

What made the duel doubly fascinating was the profound difference in the way Royal Troon plays for right and left-handers respectively. Bhatia hopes that plays into his hands this week,

“I was watching Henrik and Phil talk about how they played two different golf courses and that’s pretty cool, especially in links golf,” he explained. “Some holes with the wind coming off the right or the left, it plays totally different for right-handers and left-handers so it’s pretty cool that I’ll get to experience that.”