In 2018, Akshay Bhatia of Wake Forest, North Carolina, was the wire-to-wire winner in what then was the 41st Polo Golf Junior Classic. The high school sophomore shot 17-under-par 267, shattering multiple records and adding his name to the list of big-name champions.
Then No. 3 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, Bhatia defeated senior Ryan Hall of Knoxville, Tennessee with a 10-shot lead.
Bhatia finished the first round of the tournament at 5-under-par 66 but was not finished there. He stayed hot for the next 18 holes, with a 7-under-par 64 – an Echo Lake Country Club course record.
R1: 66
— AJGA (@AJGAGolf) June 27, 2018
R2: 64 (Course record btw)#PoloGolfJC pic.twitter.com/BjEpwN9iEn
His final two rounds of 5-under-par 66 and even-par 71 kept him far enough ahead to secure a sixth AJGA victory.
Not only did Bhatia break the Echo Lake Country Club course record, but he also shattered the previous year's Polo Junior Golf Classic 72-hole scoring record of 8-under-par 280 set by Karl Vilips of Perth, Australia. Bhatia held onto his lead and surpassed Vilips' record by nine strokes.
Three years later, Bhatia now plays professional golf, including 15 appearances and one top-10 PGA TOUR finish.
Three things you may not now about Akshay:
Hear it from the man himself.
— AJGA (@AJGAGolf) June 28, 2018
Learn more about the #PoloGolfJC Boys Division leader. pic.twitter.com/OE94ongkME