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Akshay Bhatia recently emerged victorious in the Valero Texas Open which concluded on Sunday (April 7). Bhatia got the better of Denny McCarthy with his consistent performance throughout the four rounds of the tournament.
Bhatia, 22, won the prize money of $1.6 million from the total purse of $9.2 million of the tournament. He earned the last ticket for the 2024 edition of Masters and the first invite of his career. He climbed to the 34th position in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) after winning at the Oaks Course at the TPC San Antonio.
The Californian native was accompanied by his caddie Ryan Jamison. Jamison, who has accompanied Bhatia only for a week, got emotional post the victory and said:
"Oh my god. It is amazing. It really is amazing. I think I don't know. I can't talk right now. What I mean is, it was amazing and we're going to Augusta. I love it."
Bhatia exclaimed:
"Let's go."
Jamison further added:
"Dude, I'm in tears, man. This is awesome."
In the final round, Bhatia had a six-shot lead going into the final nine holes. McCarthy's seven consecutive birdies challenged Bhatia's comfortable lead, who then sank a crucial birdie putt from 12 feet on the final hole to force a playoff.
While celebrating the birdie, Akshay Bhatia suffered a shoulder injury and had to take treatment. He won after a birdie on the par-5 18th hole. McCarthy's shot into the creek opened the competition for Bhatia. He landed the ball just six feet away from the hole, winning the competition.
Who is Akshay Bhatia's caddie Ryan Jamison?
Ryan Jamison, who has been with Akshay Bhatia just for a week since replacing Brian Dilley, has had several stints in golf.
Jamison graduated in 2005 from DePaul University. He returned to his alma mater in 2010 to pursue an MBA. During his time at the university, Jamison won the Midwest Amateur Tournament. He also served as the captain of DePaul's golf team Blue Demons during his final two seasons.
After that, Jamison undertook several golf operations for events such as the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational. He then began his coaching career. He served as an assistant at DePaul followed by an assistant coach at Nova Southeastern for four years.
Ryan Jamison led the Nova Southeastern men's golf team to a third-place finish in 2013 and a second-place finish in 2014 at the NCAA Division II Championships before winning the national title in 2015. He served a stint at Stanford University as a coach from 2016 to 2018 and was named Florida Atlantic University's head men's golf coach in 2018.
Before Bhatia, Jamison caddied for Justin Suh. It'll be interesting to see how the partnership evolves between the duo. They will head to Masters at the prestigious Augusta National, which will be held from April 11 to 14.
