Akshay Bhatia‘s name might attract some attention for his nationality. Does this young golfer have dual nationality? The 22-year-old hails from an Indian-American household. He sure does have some “Indian taste” in him. In January 2002, Bhatia was born in Northridge, a suburb of Los Angeles, and is an American citizen, but his parents are Indian. However, this budding talent’s golfing journey did begin with some doubt within the family.

Akshay’s parents, Renu and Sonny Bhatia, are originally from Delhi. After living in Los Angeles, Bhatia’s family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2011, where the young golfer got better opportunities to learn the game. He was homeschooled and became the first high schooler to make it to the U.S. Walker Cup team when he turned pro in 2019.

As per Bhatia, it was his family who got him into golfing. His father, Sonny Bhatia, is himself into the sport and is a renowned golf instructor, and he also coached the young golfer. Additionally, Bhatia’s sister, Rhea Bhatia, is also a part of the golf world and started playing before him and got him enticed about the sport. She is on the women’s golf team at Queens University and she also is interning as a mentor for young golfers on the Peggy Kirk Bell Junior Girls Golf Tour. Bhatia in an interview with Golf Channel said, “Since I was a little kid, I’ve dreamed about being the best player in the world. And now I have the opportunity to do it.”

When Bhatia wanted to quit school and get into pro golfing, his mother Renu was very skeptical about his decision. Because in the Indian culture, education through schooling was given high priority. In an interview a few years ago, Renu revealed, “He (Akshay) decided not to go to college, and I tried to talk him into going, but when he explained he was very serious about playing golf, I thought about it and I’m like if I don’t give him this chance, it may not come back. So, we just took a chance and let him decide what he wanted to do.”

However, during his 1st season as a pro, Bhatia didn’t qualify past the first two rounds in the first 6 tournaments. This was a little worrying for the family. But the very next year, he cut after 2 rounds at seven of his 11 tournaments. In 2017, he grabbed the spotlight when he won the Boys Junior PGA Championship and set several records at the Country Club of St. Albans. In 2019, he made his professional debut at the Sanderson Farms Championship, after competing in the Walker Cup that year. The next year, Bhatita won the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic and also became the 3rd youngest winner in Korn Ferry Tour history.

Soon his parents realised that the chance he took was worth it and he was excelling in golf. Bhatia’s mother, Renu was worried about the leap he made in his life and expressed relief and said, “When you grow up in the U.S., your thinking changes, so you have to really just go with the society pretty much. So, I feel like that has definitely helped many parents’ mindset changing slowly… We are really blessed, truly blessed that he can be here. He has worked really hard, so we’re just enjoying this journey with him.” 

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This showcased how talent mattered in the sport and not where you came from. Even his father Sonny Bhatia was no less proud and felt this step from his son could inspire others around the world. He said, “Take away whatever you can learn from him. He’s always there and he’s a good influence on the next generation of golfers… I think there’s so much growth to be done internationally, especially in India. And I think that me and Sahith (Theegala) have a big role in that, and a couple other guys on the DP World Tour…”

One could say that this young American golfer must have gotten a little taste of India during his upbringing with his Indian-origin family, but has this young achiever gotten any chance to touch the Indian land?

Akshay Bhatia would have participated in the 2020 Hero Indian Open

“I’ve always wanted to come; I just never have—nothing’s worked out yet,” said Bhatia in a conversation with India Golf Weekly. He was supposed to come to play the Hero Indian Open back in 2020, but due to the COVID situation, his flight got canceled, and he couldn’t make it. Bhatia was not a part of Hero Indian Open 2024 either, so his travel to India remains on the bucket list.

However, he mentioned that he loves Indian food, and his whole family is a fan of the different tastes served by the country’s cuisine.  Most of his family now lives in California or Texas, but he is looking forward to experiencing some of the greatest food in the world, along with the people of his original roots. “I’m hoping to come there soon because I would love to come visit obviously the country and eat some of the greatest food in the world because food’s a big passion of mine and my 3 Tee-Scripts.com family and everyone loves Indian food,” said Bhatia.

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