
USA Today via Reuters
Apr 6, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Akshay Bhatia acknowledges fans while walking to the green on the 18th hole during the third round of the Valero Texas Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

USA Today via Reuters
Apr 6, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Akshay Bhatia acknowledges fans while walking to the green on the 18th hole during the third round of the Valero Texas Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports
The PGA Tour’s last official (unofficial) event is done with the second round. And things are heating up already. Scottie Scheffler is still a firm favorite to win the event as he ended Friday one stroke off the top. Akshay Bhatia has taken over the leaderboard with another excellent round of golf. But that’s not the only thing he did at Albany today. Let’s look at three exciting moments from the day, one of which came from Bhatia.
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One bounce out, and Alex Noren loses his cool
Playing off the tee on the 12th at Albany, Alex Noren was aiming for the green on the 191-yard par-3. He was already 4-under for the day and 7-under par in the event. But instead of improving his score, he absolutely butchered the iron shot as it hit the edge of the short grass. Bouncing off the rim, it went into the water on the left of the green and ended up giving him a penalty. He was already following the trajectory of the ball and knew where it was going as he blurted out “Oh, f**k off!” after hitting the ball.
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That ended Noren’s flawless run for the day. His third stroke wasn’t enough to help him secure a par. Instead, he needed two more strokes to end up with a double bogey on the 12th. Alex Noren also ended the round one stroke away from the top of the table. His only mistake throughout the day was that bad drive on the 12th hole.
That’s not where you use the driver from, Akshay Bhatia!
Sitting 282 yards off the tee, Akshay Bhatia was preparing for his second shot on the par-5 11th hole. Considering the distance, he decided to take his driver from the bag instead of a wood or iron. That surprised many, as the commentators were intrigued by how well Bhatia would be able to use the driver off the deck. But he made surprisingly good contact and angled it perfectly towards the green.
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.@akshaybhatia_1 absolutely FLUSHES DOD to set up an easy birdie at the Hero World Challenge. pic.twitter.com/GKXiFxxb8U
— Skratch (@Skratch) December 5, 2025
The ball landed just short of the green before rolling onto the putting surface. It stopped nearly 20 feet away from the cup. That was enough to give Bhatia a shot at an eagle and a confirmed birdie.
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Putting 101 with Keegan Bradley
We’re back on the 12th hole again. Keegan Bradley landed his drive 21 feet away from the hole. It’s not an easy task for anyone, as the green is not the easiest to read at Albany. But after the masterclass Bradley displayed on the green to win the Skins Game a few days ago, he was confident to land this one as well. And that’s exactly what he did.
Lining up his putter, Bradley perfectly paced his shot at the right angle to curve from left to right. As the commentators mentioned, he couldn’t be too defensive or offensive with the speed. Fortunately, he had given it just the right amount of push to use the surface of the green to his advantage and drop into the hole. That helped him secure a birdie on the hole. Keegan Bradley ended the day with a par, and his overall score was 5-under. But he would have certainly been worse off had he not made that putt.
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