At Pebble Beach Golf Links, Akshay Bhatia had another opportunity to rewrite an old memory. Leading late in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the young left-hander had both momentum and history and his favor. However, despite having an early lead, his week ended quietly as Collin Morikawa surged past him on Sunday. Away from the leaderboards, Bhatia shared his opinion on golf’s changing media culture. Additionally, he pointed out why fans often misunderstand tour personalities, especially Scottie Scheffler.

In a conversation with golfer and analyst, Brad Dalke for Good Good Golf, Bhatia stated, “I feel like again a bit of a discrepancy on what the PGA Tour life looks like because it’s very different from this.”

The 24-year-old American further explained, “So this shows like the enjoyment of golf, the hanging with the friends and doing all these challenges and then you know from seeing it on our side it’s such a different perspective and so I hope we can like again figure out some stuff and obviously like some of the stuff they’ve done with you guys on the on the tour have been huge for for people to come out and watch. I mean, you guys have bigger crowds than us, you know.”

Bhatia particularly highlighted that traditional PGA Tour coverage compresses players into competitive seriousness. Brad Dalke, too, reflected on the same and mentioned how the broadcast version highlights focus, routines, and restraint, which can make even naturally humorous players appear flat. Dalke pointed out how it’s ‘shifting towards YouTube’ and drew the example of Scheffler. 

Referring to Bhatia’s opinion, Dalke added, “It’s wild. I mean you kind of touched on it’s like it’s like that’s a personality factor of it because I mean you watch a PGA Tour coverage like Scottie for instance like you know Scottie I know Scottie like he is one of the most likable guys. He has such a good attitude on the course that if you watch him in a coverage like that’s a guy who, like some people, almost dislikes how boring he is because he has such a good attitude. But it’s like if you actually if he was like in YouTube videos, you’d realize how funny he is.” 

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

Akshay Bhatia immediately agreed by adding, “Oh, yeah, he’s great.”

In contrast to traditional PGA coverage, modern creator-style golf content shows the social side. The side that the audience immediately resonates with and connects with. Bhatia hinted at how that gap itself explains why the dominant world No. 1 can look overly calm compared to his real self.

A few weeks back, Bhatia shared a unique perspective by comparing himself to Scheffler as he took the lead in the Hero World Challenge in 2025.

Akshay Bhatia compares career timeline with Scottie Scheffler amid rise

While Bhatia is looking to find his footing among the top tens in his recent outings, Scottie stepped into 2026 after an impeccable run in 2025. By winning his 20th PGA Tour title before turning 30, Scheffler joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to achieve 20 wins and four major championships by that age. Additionally, Scheffler became the third golfer in PGA Tour history to surpass $100 million in career earnings.

Now, as Scheffler is continuing to achieve historic feats, Bhatia reflected on his own age and compared it to Scheffler’s to justify his stance on how he feels he is doing great in the sport. 

Just months back, in December 2025, Bhatia said, “I think I don’t really realise how young I am. This week, I’m the youngest guy in the field, which is really hard for me to process. And one thing I ask myself, which is kind of funny, don’t know if I should share it, but I ask myself what was Scottie Scheffler doing at 23?”

He continued, “He was still working his way on the Korn Ferry Tour, or maybe even not. I don’t know, but look where he is now at 28-29 years old. I just try to remind myself that no matter how hard or easy certain things feel, it’s a long career.”

Bhatia further tried to emphasize how he feels that he must treat himself in a better way and value his caliber. He shared how he wants to be grateful for what he has been doing as a 23-year-old golfer (now 24).