Akshay Bhatia, Valero Texas Open champion

Akshay Bhatia beat Denny McCarthy on the first playoff hole to complete a major victory in Valero Texas Open Sunday at TPC San Antonio. This tournament belongs to PGA Tour.

Bhatia He started the day with a four-shot lead, but entered the playoff after McCarthy finished his round with seven consecutive birdies for an 8-under 28 on the back nine and a 63 in the final round.

“Denny just played”Bhatia said. “It’s like this guy’s not human. When you see that, you think ‘shit,’ like he’s doing nothing wrong, and yet my lead goes from five to four to three to two to one.”

Bhatia finished his 67 with a birdie on the par-5 18th, but dislocated his left shoulder with a celebratory punch. “When I made the putt in regulation, I lifted my arm and put it in an awkward spot, dislocated it a little bit, and it came back,” Bhatia said. “It’s happened before. It happened to me in Pickleball and then it happened to me in Bermuda, but I’m feeling a little relieved. My physical therapist will take care of me. I’m not too worried, but definitely a little bit. no comfortable now.”

The players returned to the 18th tee and Bhatia realized he had injured his shoulder after the drive. As Bhatia waited for a trainer to help him tape up his shoulder, McCarthy hit his third hole shot into a creek running alongside the green.

Bhatia quickly holed his third shot to within 6 feet of the cup and made his birdie to win the event and earn a spot in next week’s Masters. “I said to myself, let’s go, like this is your moment and you missed it, okay, you’re second,” said Bhatia. “But I just had the feeling that I can do it. It’s a good feeling because some people can get away from the moment and I feel like I’m starting to accept it better.”

Both players finished at 20-under 268 after McCarthy’s record 28, which saw him make birdie putts on the 10th and 12th through 18th holes. Known for having one of the best putters on the PGA Tour, McCarthy made a putt of 32 1/2 feet on No. 12 and a 41-footer at No. 15 before a 12 1/2-foot right-to-left putt on No. 15. 18 moved him to 20 under.

Bhatia and McCarthy finished nine strokes ahead of third-place finisher Rory McIlroy, who shot a 66 in the final round to reach 11 under par. Although he finished well behind the leaders, the Northern Irishman was pleased with his performance heading into the Masters.

“I’m in a better situation than I was a few weeks ago,” McIlroy said. “Yeah, it’s nice to see a round like this today, it’s nice to play in a golf tournament where (obviously I’ll finish a few strokes behind Denny and Akshay) but I still played pretty solid in some tough conditions and then “Every time the field opened up a little for us today, I was able to take advantage of it. Feeling good,” he concluded.