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Akshay Bhatia won the Barracuda Championship on the PGA Tour, but that doesn’t mean he is in the FedEx Cup playoffs like many initially thought.
Akshay Bhatia thought he was heading to the FedEx Cup playoffs.
After winning the Barracuda Championship Sunday, the 21-year-old believed he had done enough, but it seems there is a lot of work left to do.
Bhatia spoke on Sirius XM PGA Tour radio about the whole situation.
“My agent told me a couple hours after the [Barracuda] trophy presentation,” Bhatia said. “I was really shocked because my caddie and I talked about going to play Barbasol and Barracuda, and with Special Temporary [status], you’re just trying to win within these next four events to get into the playoffs. That’s the whole goal.”
Before his win at the Barracuda, Bhatia finished T9 at the Barbasol Championship. Since those two events are co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour, he didn’t earn FedEx Cup points, per Golf Channel.
In these events, 50 spots go to European Circuit’s players. The PGA Tour deems there aren’t enough of its own players for temporary members like Bhatia to earn FedEx Cup points. That rule means he didn’t get points for his T9 or his win.
“Our goal is to get one win, get in the playoffs, and then my schedule changes,” he said.
He achieved what he set out to do, which will still not be enough to get him into playoffs. Bhatia debuted at No. 92 in the FedEx Cup standings but now is No. 97, dropping five spots since his win.
On the season, he has four top-10s and his win. That’s usually good enough to qualify, but not in this instance. The Wake Forest, N.C., resident also has made $1,913,058. That amount is more than Sam Stevens and Stephan Jaeger, who are both currently inside the Top 70.
If he had gotten points for the win, Bhatia would be No. 51. That would get him into the FedEx St. Jude Championship. It would also see him knocking on the door of the BMW Championship, the 50-man second playoff event.
“You get into the top 50, and you’re in all the elevated (events) next year, and that’s huge for me as far as having my first full season,” Bhatia said. “The fact that I finished top 10 and then I win and I’m not technically — I’m not in the playoffs and I don’t get the points, it is a little frustrating because you work so hard. It’s not easy to win a PGA Tour event.”
Bhatia’s unfortunate situation isn’t unprecedented. Shane Lowry dealt with a similar situation in 2015 when he won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational as a non-member. He ended up at No. 175 in the FedEx Cup standings that year.
There are two events left before the playoffs begin. He was set to play in the 3M Open this week but withdrew on Monday. He is currently 159.15 points behind No. 70 Austin Eckroat.
Bhatia could earn his way into the playoffs if he does well at the Wyndham Championship next week, but he will need an extremely high finish. If he does miss the cut at the Wyndham, his season would be over, and he would likely be even more frustrated.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and on Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
