“I have bigger goals than playing the Masters” – Akshay Bhatia opens up getting a last-minute invite for the 2024 Masters

Akshay Bhatia won the 2024 Valero Texas Open on Sunday, April 7. The 22-year-old golfer clinched his second PGA Tour title by beating Denny McCarthy in a playoff. With the win at San Antonio, Bhatia earned a last-minute invite to the 2024 Masters.

The PGA Tour confirmed the young golfer’s call-up to the first major of the season. Speaking in his post-event press conference, Bhatia opened up on the same and noted that it is “absolutely crazy” to get the invite to play the Masters. The junior golf prodigy recalled playing in Augusta a few years ago and dubbed the experience ‘amazing.’

Bhatia admitted that the possible Masters invite was on his mind all week, however added that it wasn’t his ultimate goal. The Texas Open champion stated that he had a plan to stick to and he has “bigger goals than just playing the Masters.”

Opening up on the emotion of getting to play his first Masters, Akshay Bhatia said (at 5:13):

"I don't even know. I played Augusta in 2020 maybe. I remember how amazing that place is. But to realize that I'm playing in the Masters next week, it's absolutely crazy. And it was on my mind all week. But I try to stick to my game plan. And I have bigger goals than just playing the Masters. I have more goals that I want to achieve and this kind of helps me for that."

Interestingly, Akshay Bhatia had openly expressed his Masters target earlier in the week. Speaking after the third round at the Valero Texas Open on Sunday, the young golfer said that PGA Tour wins were stepping stones for him.

"I didn't grow up playing on the PGA Tour necessarily to win just PGA Tour events, I grew up playing and dreaming of winning majors. That's kind of my main focus for the years to come," he stated.

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Akshay Bhatia earns multiple perks for winning the 2024 Valero Texas Open

The 2024 Masters invite is the biggest perk Akshay Bhatia earned from his win on Sunday. However, it wasn’t everything. The 22-year-old golfer earned several perks, including a whopping prize money paycheck of $1,656,000 from the event’s $9,200,000 purse.

Bhatia earned 500 FedExCup points for the win. The young golfer also broke into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). The champion golfer leaped forward 53 spots from 87th to 34th, his best-ever ranking to date.

The 2023 Barracuda Championship winner also landed exemptions to events including next year’s The Sentry, THE PLAYERS Championship, and the PGA Championship. His recent win also extended his PGA Tour membership status till the 2026 season.