Akshay Bhatia – Syndication Server

Grant Thornton Invitational 2024 odds, course history and picks to win

Golf’s silly season rolls on in Naples.

The PGA Tour’s silly season rolls on this week in Naples, Florida, with the Grant Thornton Invitational, where Tour stars will be partnered in two-person teams with their LPGA counterparts.

Some of the notable duos include Tony Finau and Nelly Korda, defending champions Jason Day and Lydia Ko, Rickie Fowler and Lexi Thompson, and Sahith Theegala and Allisen Corpuz.

Grant Thornton: Full field, teams

Tiburon Golf Club will play host, and if that name sounds familiar to you, this Greg Norman-designed track is the annual home of the LPGA’s CME Group Tour Championship. This year’s CME winner, Jeeno Thitikul, is in the Grant Thornton field and paired with fan-favorite Tom Kim.

Each round of the three-day tournament — action gets underway Friday — will feature a different format. Friday will be a scramble, Saturday will be foursomes and Sunday will be modified four-ball.

Golf course

Tiburon Golf Club | Par 72 | 7,382 yards

2023 Grant Thornton Invitational — Lydia Ko of New Zealand and Jason Day of Australia walk from the third tee during the second round of the Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club on December 09, 2023, in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

Grant Thornton Invitational betting odds

Team	Odds	Team	Odds
Korda/Finau	(+450)	Thitikul/Kim	(+500)
Ko/Day	(+700)	Henderson/Conners	(+800)
Corpuz/Theegala	(+1100)	Kupcho/Bhatia	(+1200)
Coughlin/Young	(+1400)	Boutier/Pavon	(+1400)
Thompson/Fowler	(+1400)	Lee/Greyserman	(+1600)
Khang/Kuchar	(+1600)	Stark/Poston	(+1800)
Ruffels/Dunlap	(+1800)	Vu/List	(+2200)
Tavatanakit/Knapp	(+2500)	Reid/Champ	(+5500)

[gambcom-standard rankid=”3413″ ]

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Grant Thornton Invitational picks to win

Jeeno Thitikul and Tom Kim

Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand poses with the trophy after winning the CME Group Tour Championship 2024 at Tiburon Golf Club on November 24, 2024, in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Odds: 5/1

Analysis: This pick may seem obvious — and that’s because it is. Thitikul won on this very golf course just a few weeks ago, and Kim is fresh off a runner-up finish to Scottie Scheffler at the Hero World Challenge. Tough not to pick the hot hands.

Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners

Odds: 8/1

Analysis: The Canadian duo is a great team to add to your card. Conners was in South Africa last week for the Nedbank Golf Challenge and finished the event in a tie for sixth. Henderson made it to the LPGA finale and tied for eighth. This team finished second to Day/Ko last year.

Jennifer Kupcho and Akshay Bhatia

Akshay Bhatia of the United States follows a shot on the third hole during the final round of the Hero World Challenge 2024 at Albany Golf Course on December 08, 2024, in Nassau, Bahamas. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Odds: 12/1

Analysis: Kupcho didn’t quite have the week Thitikul did at Tiburon in November, but she did finish in a tie for 12th. Her teammate Bhatia, like Kim, played in the Hero last week and grabbed solo fourth. Another partnership featuring two players in good form.

Two in, two out in latest update to the field for 2024 Hero World Challenge

The 20-man field for the Hero has had some more updates.

This story was updated due to a field change announced on Dec. 2, 2024.

The 20-man field for the 2024 Hero World Challenge has had some updates this week.

The first bit of news came from tournament host Tiger Woods, who announced he would not be able to play in his annual bash in the Bahamas.

“I am disappointed that I will not be able to compete this year at the Hero World Challenge, but always look forward to being tournament host,” he wrote on social media.

Woods also noted that he added three players to the field: Justin Thomas, Jason Day and Nick Dunlap.

That got the tee sheet to 20 names. But then there were a few other changes, as two new names are in and two are out.

Hideki Matsuyama and Billy Horschel, on the original field list that was announced about a month ago, are now out.

Replacing them will be Akshay Bhatia and Cameron Young.

Three days befor the tournament was to start, Tony Finau withdrew and was replaced by Sepp Straka.

The 2024 Hero returns to Albany for the ninth year, from Dec. 5-8.

2024 Hero World Challenge field

Golfer	Country
Scottie Scheffler	U.S.
Ludvig Aberg	Sweden
Wyndham Clark	U.S.
Akshay Bhatia	U.S.
Patrick Cantlay	U.S.
Sahith Theegala	U.S.
Keegan Bradley	U.S.
Russell Henley	U.S.
Robert MacIntyre	Scotland
Sam Burns	U.S.
Brian Harman	U.S.
Sungjae Im	Korea
Sepp Straka	Austria
Tom Kim	Korea
Aaron Rai	England
Cameron Young	U.S.
Matthieu Pavon	France
Justin Thomas	U.S.
Jason Day	Australia
Nick Dunlap	U.S.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=2621]

There are 17 left-handed golfers who have won on the PGA Tour

Let’s take a closer look at the lefties on the PGA Tour.

About 10 percent of the U.S. population is left-handed but there has only been 17 lefties to win on the PGA Tour.

One place they can find common ground is the official website of being left-handed, lefthandersday.com, where it appears the struggle is real:

“August 13th is a chance to tell your family and friends how proud you are of being left-handed, and also raise awareness of the everyday issues that lefties face as we live in a world designed for right-handers.”

August 13, 2024, marked the 33rd annual International Lefthanders Day. On that site, you can purchase things such as left-handed scissors. For left-handed golf clubs, you’re probably better off looking elsewhere.

Fifteen non-righties have combined to win 86 times on the PGA Tour, led by you-know-who, Phil Mickelson.

With Brian Harman’s win at Royal Liverpool in 2023, there have now been three lefties to win the Open Championship, joining Bob Charles (1963) and Phil Mickelson (2013).

Akshay Bhatia adding Callaway Mini driver and new ball at 2024 Tour Championship

Bhatia is making some changes in Atlanta.

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Akshay Bhatia is considering some interesting equipment changes as he plays in his first Tour Championship this week at East Lake Golf Club. These include adding a mini driver to his bag and using a new golf ball.

According to an article written by Andrew Tursky for GolfWRX and PGATour.com, Bhatia, who will start the opening round at 2 under, eight shots behind Scottie Scheffler, plans to add a Callaway Ai Smoke Paradym Ti340 Mini Driver to his bag.

“I curve it a lot. I try to achieve as lot of curve with the driver, so any time I have restricted start lines, I can draw a driver,” Bhatia said. “But if I have this mini driver, I can turn it a lot easier, then it’s a nice option.”

Bhatia said that he can hit his 19-degree Callaway Apex UW about 260 yards off the tee, but his 3-wood can be erratic.

“(A) 3-wood for me can either be really good, or I can hit it off the heel one day, or I can get a hot pull. It’s just very inconsistent for me,” he said. “So, the mini driver gives me more options. It’s faster, but it spins a little more, so the consistency of the ball flight is tighter, and that’s what I need.”

The Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Ti 340 Mini driver (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The Callaway Ai Smoke Paradym Ti340 Mini Driver Bhatia may put into play has 13.5 degrees of loft, similar to a strong-lofted 3-wood. However, while most 3-woods for elite golfers have a volume in the neighborhood of 180-200 cubic centimeters, Bhatia’s mini driver has 340 cubic centimeters. That makes it about 70 percent larger than many 3-woods but 26 percent smaller than a typical 460-cubic-centimeter driver.

Tour Championship: Thursday tee times | Staggered start

The Ai Smoke Paradym Ti340 Mini also comes standard at 43.75 inches in length, which is about 1.5 to 2 inches shorter than most modern drivers. For many elite golfers, the combination of a shorter shaft and smaller head can make it easier to hit a draw instead of a fade, which appears to be the appeal of the mini driver for Bhatia.

While it is not uncommon for pros to make course-specific changes to the clubs in their bag, one piece of gear Bhatia plans to change is rarely tinkered with: the ball.

Callaway Chrome Tour 2024 — The 2024 Callaway Chrome Tour. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

“I’m going to the softer golf ball,” said Bhatia, who typically plays a Callaway Chrome Tour X but plans to use a Chrome Tour at East Lake. “The greens are really firm this week. Softer for me, like, you want to win major championships, you need to hit it higher and softer. The golf ball I play is a lower-spinning ball, which is good, say, 16 weeks out of the year, but then you’ve got four majors, and then, obviously, some Signature Events play pretty firm. I’ve wanted to make this switch for a long time. I feel like there’s no better reason to do it than this week. I mean, it’s kind of a free-for-all, trying to get used to the golf ball and prep for the majors and some of the bigger events.”

Callaway released the Chrome Tour and Chrome Tour X in January. Both are four-piece balls that feature a large rubber core and a duel-mantle system encased in a soft urethane cover.

Jordan Spieth and these marquee names headline 2024 Wyndham Championship field at final FedEx Cup regular-season event

The most important number at the Wyndham is 70 – that’s how many players will advance into the first of the three playoffs events.

As the final tournament of the FedEx Cup regular season, the Wyndham Championship usually attracts a handful of big names looking for one last chance to salvage a season or secure a playoff run that will pave the way for future glory. The tournament landed none bigger to sign up for a week in Greensboro, North Carolina, this year than three-time major champ Jordan Spieth, who at No. 63 in the season-long FedEx Cup standings has work to do if he plans to make a deep playoff run and also needs to improve his world rank, which has dipped to No. 37. Spieth lost a playoff to Patrick Reed at tournament host Sedgefield Country Club in 2013.

Spieth may need to write for sponsor invites to play in some of his favorite events next season such as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am if he doesn’t work his way into the top 50 and qualify for the second leg of the playoffs at the BMW Championship, which secures a berth in the signature events after next week’s playoff event in Memphis.

Spieth isn’t the only marquee name who signed up for the humidity and southern hospitality that this pocket of the Tarheel State is famous for – at least this time of year for the humidity.

Sungjae Im, who is ninth in the FedEx Cup, and Shane Lowry at 10^th, are both looking to protect their status in the Comcast Business Top 10, which pays a hefty bonus to the top 10 in the season-long points race after the Wyndham Championship. Akshay Bhatia, who grew up just down the road in Wake Forest, North Carolina, is ranked 15^th in the FedEx Cup, and Scot Robert MacIntyre at No. 17, still could sneak in and possibly bounce them — or someone else who decided to rest up for the playoffs — out.

Last year’s British Open champ Brian Harman, ranked 15^th in the world and U.S Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, No. 21 in the world, Wake Forest University grad Cameron Young, 24th in the world, as well as Billy Horschel, No. 33, in the world, are prominent figures who aren’t stressing about their playoff position but still angling to improve their chances of finishing in the top 30 and a spot in the Tour Championship at East Lake.

Finishing in the top 50 has never been a bigger deal and that has the likes of another Wake product, Will Zalatoris, No. 45 in the FedEx Cup, Harris English, No. 48, Austin Eckroat, No. 49, Nick Taylor, No. 50, Patrick Rodgers No. 51, and Justin Rose, who catapulted to No. 52 with his runner-up finish at the British Open a few weeks ago, all trying to scoot in or hang on for dear life to a spot in the top 50 – which will be determined next week in Memphis. But playing well at the Wyndham could go a long way to helping their chances and making the St. Jude (relatively) stress-free.

The most important number at the Wyndham is 70 – that’s how many players will advance into the first of the three playoffs events. Emiliano Grillo, who is representing Argentina in the Olympics this week, is No. 68, and France’s Olympian Victor Perez, No. 71, are coming all the way from Paris to battle the top-70 bubble. Brendon Todd is the current “Bubble Boy” at No. 70.

Lucas Glover lines up a putt on the first green during the final round of the John Deere Classic golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Cress-USA TODAY Sports

Lucas Glover, who is No. 76 in the FedEx Cup, is in much better shape than he was last year heading into the Wyndham Championship — he was No. 112 — before he won the title to back-door his way into the playoffs, but he’s still got work to do if he’s going to have a shot to defend the following week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Matt Kuchar, who is the only player to qualify for all 17 editions of the playoffs, is coming off a T-3 at the 3M Open but still has a lot of ground to make up if he’s going to keep that streak alive. He enters the Wyndham Championship at 113^th in the FedEx Cup standings. As the saying goes, you’ve got to be in it to win it.

There are others who not only have playoffs to consider but also Presidents Cup hopes. The biennial event between the U.S. and the International Team will be held in late September and the window for qualifying on points or to make a good impression for a captain’s pick is winding down. No matter who you are in the field of 156 at the Donald Ross-designed Sedgefield CC, there’s something to play for at the 35^th and final regular season Tour stop.

Cam Davis wins 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic, earns second victory in Detroit

Akshay Bhatia’s par putt from 4 feet at 18 caught the right edge and spun out, his first three putt of the week.

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Cam Davis loves the Motor City.

The Australian has two career PGA Tour titles to his credit after winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic for the second time.

Davis, the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic champion, shot 2-under 70 Sunday at Detroit Golf Club to get in the clubhouse at 18-under 270, and that was good enough for the title when Akshay Bhatia took three putts from 32 feet to make bogey at the last.

“I wouldn’t wish what happened to Akshay on anyone, but I’ve done a lot of grinding to get myself out of a hole,” he said. “It’s pretty good.”

Davis, 29, hadn’t recorded a single top-10 finish this season, and conceded he didn’t see a week like this coming to get him “out of the doldrums.” Since May, in his last six starts, Davis was a cumulative 32-over par, and had missed the cut at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open.

“I saw a little bit of a spark last week” said Davis, who finished T-48 at the Travelers Championship, his best result in his last six starts, “but nothing to show this coming, so this is crazy.”

ROCKET MORTGAGE: Leaderboard | Photos

Davis earned $1.656 million for the win, more than he had made in 16 previous starts combined. A few weeks earlier he began working with hypnotherapist Grace Smith, who helped him get into a better head space.

“From where I was a couple of weeks ago to today, just completely different person,” he said.

Davis was a member of the International Team at the 2022 Presidents Cup and seemed on the verge of a breakthrough but he’s struggled to keep his card for much of the last two seasons. Davis termed the time between his victories in Motown to be “frustrating.”

“Because I see a lot of young guys coming out and winning multiple times and making it happen,” he explained. “To not be one of those guys, especially now I’m almost 30, there are guys out here 21, 22 that are doing things that I wish I was doing and had done at their age.”

Davis isn’t the only one surprised that he had been stuck on one victory for the last few years. The 2022 International Team Captain Trevor Immelman, working as lead analyst for CBS Sports on the broadcast, and Golf Channel’s Tripp Isenhour both shared the same sentiment.

“When you watch Cam Davis hit the ball and you watch his skillset you go, ‘How does this guy only have one win on the PGA Tour?’ ” said Isenhour. “It’s great to see him find the peace that pulls him to where he needs to be. That might be bad news for every one else because he’s very, very talented.”

In the final round, Davis opened with a bogey at the first but bounced back with birdies at Nos. 3, 5 and 7, the latter giving him the solo lead. Bhatia caught him with a birdie of his own at No. 7 and it turned into a back-and-forth affair with several competitors nipping at their heels.

Davis drilled a 3-wood at the par-5 14^th that landed on the front of the green but reversed gears and trickled into the water. It was a terrible break and he made bogey to drop one stroke behind. But he got revenge on 17, sinking a 4-foot birdie putt at the par-5 17^th to tie Bhatia for the lead.

“I felt like it just wasn’t going to be my day,” Davis said. “I was honestly very surprised that I was tied for the lead with the last group coming down 18.”

Winning is hard.

The first miss inside 6 feet this week for Akshay Bhatia leads to bogey and a victory for Cam Davis. pic.twitter.com/MeifeElEsm

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 30, 2024

A Northwest breeze blew on Sunday and protected the par 5s, preventing players from feasting on the four holes that the field had picked apart during the first three rounds. Davis Thompson (68), Min Woo Lee (69), who had a share of the lead before a bogey at 18, and 54-hole co-leader Aaron Rai (72) tied for third. Seeking his first Tour title, Cameron Young was just one stroke back when he cracked the shaft of his driver in anger on the 14^th hole. He brooded on the greens too as his balky putter let him down and he settled for a 73 and a T-6 finish. Amateur Luke Clanton, 20, remained in the trophy hunt until late on the back nine, signing for an even-par 72 and T-10 finish.

No one left with a sense of what could’ve been more than Bhatia, who played in the final group on Sunday for the second straight week and missed out on a playoff when his par attempt from just under 5 feet at 18 caught the right edge of the cup and spun out, his first three putt of the week, first miss from inside 6 feet all week and just his second bogey of the tournament.

“It sucks, there’s no other way to put it,” Bhatia said. “Just a little bit of nerves, honestly. I’m human.”

Akshay Bhatia, Rickie Fowler, Will Zalatoris break down Sauce Gardner’s golf swing at the Rocket Mortgage Classic

Follow Bhatia’s advice, and his pitch shots should have a little Tour sauce.

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Akshay Bhatia didn’t know who Sauce Gardner was, but that didn’t stop him from providing some free instruction for the New York Jets cornerback.

Bhatia, who shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 to grab the first-round lead at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, was asked if he knew who the shut-down corner out of Cincinnati was during his post-round press conference.

“Sorry, who?” Bhatia said.

“Sauce Gardner,” the interviewer repeated.

“I don’t,” he said.

LMK when you want to come on the channel for a lesson, we'll get you dialed in @iamSauceGardner

— Bryson DeChambeau (@b_dechambeau) June 27, 2024

Gardner, 23, recently took up golf and has been posting videos on social media. Bryson DeChambeau replied to one of them and offered to give him a lesson on his YouTube channel. But Gardner, who also got some help from the PGA of America, got some free analysis from Bhatia when the interviewer asked him to look at one of Gardner’s videos – presumably on his phone.

“On his short game, he’s using a lot of lower body, which you don’t really want to do, so that was first off,” Bhatia said. “Other than that, it looks pretty good. He’ll just get used to kind of releasing the golf club. Looks like he kind of holds on a little bit. He’s got some work to do, but off to a good start.”

Rickie Fowler echoed that sentiment.

“I like the possibilities. There’s a lot of good athletic moves and speed in there. A little work, watch out,” Fowler said.

Asked for a tip, Fowler said, “Keep swinging hard and then a big thing is work on short game and putting. For a lot of people, I feel like high handicappers, I feel like that’s kind of the easiest way to start taking strokes off. Then you can worry about the long game later.”

Will Zalatoris also had nothing but encouraging words for Gardner.

“I mean, he’s got some speed, for one,” Zalatoris said. “The dude’s an athlete, we know that, but that’s pretty impressive. Clean up a little bit of the short game there and he’s going to be pretty good pretty quick. All those football guys are freak athletes. I played with Calvin Johnson and Aidan Hutchinson on the 313 on Tuesday and those guys were silly good around the greens. That’s pretty impressive.”

There you have it. Follow the advice of the firm of Fowler, Bhatia & Zalatoris and Gardner’s pitch shots should have a little Tour sauce.

I just went back and watched the video of my swing. You are 100% right coach! I'm back on the course today so I will put those tips to use🫡 https://t.co/4K4c9IKzRT

— SAUCE GARDNER (@iamSauceGardner) June 27, 2024

Akshay Bhatia wrote ‘G$’ on wrist in remembrance of Grayson Murray at 2024 RBC Canadian Open

“Let’s ride today G.”

On May 25, Grayson Murray passed away at the age of 30, a brutal and terrible loss for the PGA Tour family. His death impacted the entire golf community and numerous players posted on social media in remembrance of the two-time Tour winner. On Thursday, ahead of the 2024 RBC Canadian Open, Akshay Bhatia wrote “G$” in marker on his wrist.

“Let’s ride today G,” Bhatia said on his Instagram story. After his 1-under 69 round, Bhatia was asked about the way he chose to commemorate his friend.

“Oh, God, I didn’t think it would be this hard. Yeah, I wrote G-money today. He’s one of my best buddies out here, grew up together. I looked up to him for a long time,” Bhatia said. “I wish he was still here, but I know he’s here watching above everyone. Yeah, it’s just crazy. Like I was driving yesterday, or a couple days ago, going back from dinner back to the hotel, and for whatever reason, I looked to the right, and there was a trash can with G-money on it. Just freaky stuff happens like that where I know he’s with us.

“I’m playing for him this week, and every round I play for the next however long. Yeah, he’s just with me all the time, and he meant a lot to me. Just happy and proud to wear Grayson’s name on my wrist.”

Akshay Bhatia wrote G$ on his left wrist ahead of the first round of the 2024 RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in memory of his friend Grayson Murray. (Photo: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

This is Bhatia’s first appearance at Hamilton Golf & Country Club, but he did make the cut and eventually tie for 68th at last year’s RBC Canadian Open.

In 15 events this season, Bhatia has seven top 25 finishes and a win at the Valero Texas Open.

Success on this level was something Bhatia says Murray hinted at years ago.

“I just remember when I was 13, 14 years old, I’d see him on the putting green at our golf course, and I’d ask him what’s it like being on the PGA Tour? It’s just so cool, right?,” Bhatia sais. “And he was always like, ‘Dude, you’re going to be there. Trust me.’ I don’t know, he just always believed in me.

Grayson Murray celebrates with Akshay Bhatia after Murray won the 2024 Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

“I think his story and everything that’s happened, I think, has really opened everyone’s eyes. It just doesn’t happen that often. The amount of appreciation and just uplifting energy from everyone across the world on the PGA Tour has been great for his family. We’re grateful for that because sometimes you feel like no one really cares about you, but the fact that he’s touched this many people’s hearts, my heart, he’s made me just really open my eyes a little bit.”

There are 20 first-timers at 2024 Masters, including last week’s winner and the 2023 U.S. Open champ

The 20 first-timers this year is six off the record set in 2020.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Some veterans have a few tips of advice for 11^th-hour Masters Tournament participant Akshay Bhatia and the other 19 golfers making their debut at Augusta National Golf Club this week.

Bhatia won a playoff in the Valeron Texas Open on Sunday night, making him the final entrant in the 88^th Masters, which begins on Thursday. The starting field has 89 players.

It’s been such a whirlwind that Bhatia said on Tuesday afternoon that he “really can’t” remember much of what had happened in the previous 24 hours.

Bhatia flew into Augusta after his victory in San Antonio, arriving at 1:30 a.m. He made it to Augusta National by 2 p.m., did a news conference at 4 p.m. and then decided to “take it easy. This is seven weeks in a row for me, so it’s a lot of golf, but I also have a ton of adrenaline so it kind of balances out.”

Because of a recurrent shoulder problem that he fought through to win Sunday, Bhatia doesn’t know how much practice he’ll get in on Tuesday. He said he wants to play in the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday.

Keegan Bradley, who is playing in his eighth Masters, hopes the rookies take in the whole experience as much as they can. He wishes he had in during his 2012 debut.

“I was a nervous wreck,” he said. “You can miss the accomplishment in your career to get out here. I think you got to take a second is and enjoy being here. I wish I took a little more time to look around and see where I was and how far I had come in my career to be teeing it up in the Masters. I would really take the time to really enjoy and look around. It’s such a stressful week, especially the first one.”

Augusta resident Luke List is playing in his third Masters. His first, in 2005, was as an amateur. When he returned as a pro in 2020, he followed the same strategy he had on first Masters: Stick to your game plan.

“There will be some bad stuff happening out there and you try not to be too aggressive when that happens,” List said. “Just plod along. And there is some opportunities out here, but also a lot of the holes that will jump up and get you. For me, just trying to stay in my routine and my game plan I guess.”

Flags fly on the scoreboard during a practice round for the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Network)

The 20 first-timers this year is six off the record set in 2020. Heading up this year’s group is current U.S. Open champion Wyndam Clark. He played in September’s Ryder Cup for the U.S. Also in that event were Masters rookies Ludvig Aberg and Nicolai Hojgaard.

Nine of the rookies punched their ticket with PGA Tour victories, with Lee Hodges, in the 3M Open in last July, being the lone entry from the 2023 Masters in April to the end of the year.

After that, they came fast and furious early in 2024 and then in the runup to the Masters. There were three winners in January, two in February, two in March and one in April.

In fact, the last three tournaments have seen the winner earn a Masters invitation – Peter Malnati at Valspar, Stephan Jaeger in the Houston Open and Bhatia.

“Just to be standing here, it’s amazing, and just having the opportunity, the members giving us the opportunity to play their golf course is certainly special, and I can’t wait to be on that first tee on Thursday,” Bhatia said.

In addition to Bhatia, Clark, Aberg, Hojgaard, Malnati and Jaeger, the other Masters rookies are pros Eric Cole, Nick Dunlap, Austin Eckroat, Ryo Hisatsune, Lee Hodges, Jake Knapp, Denny McCarthy, Grayson Murray, Matthieu Pavon and Adam Schenk.

There are also five amateurs competing in this year’s event.

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2024 Valero Texas Open prize money payouts for each PGA Tour player

It pays to play well on the PGA Tour.

It pays to play well on the PGA Tour. Just ask this week’s winner, Akshay Bhatia.

The 22-year-old won the 2024 Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio after a playoff against Denny McCarthy on Sunday to claim his second PGA Tour victory. His first win at last year’s 2023 Barracuda Championship also came via a playoff. For his efforts, Bhatia will take home the top prize of $1,656,000. Despite coming up short in the playoff, McCarthy still cleared seven figures and banked $1,002,800 for a hefty consolation prize.

With $9.2 million up for grabs, check out how much money each PGA Tour player earned this week at the 2024 Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.

Prize money payouts

Position	Player	Score	Earnings
1	Akshay Bhatia	-20	$1,656,000
2	Denny McCarthy	-20	$1,002,800
3	Rory McIlroy	-11	$634,800
4	Russell Henley	-10	$450,800
T5	Adam Schenk	-9	$355,350
T5	Brendon Todd	-9	$355,350
T7	Ben Martin	-8	$289,033
T7	Tommy Fleetwood	-8	$289,033
T7	Hideki Matsuyama	-8	$289,033
T10	Matt Fitzpatrick	-6	$223,100
T10	Peter Kuest	-6	$223,100
T10	Mac Meissner	-6	$223,100
T10	Jordan Spieth	-6	$223,100
T14	S.H. Kim	-5	$131,602
T14	Tyson Alexander	-5	$131,602
T14	Keith Mitchell	-5	$131,602
T14	Sam Stevens	-5	$131,602
T14	Chan Kim	-5	$131,602
T14	Adam Scott	-5	$131,602
T14	Andrew Putnam	-5	$131,602
T14	Thorbjorn Olesen	-5	$131,602
T14	Alex Noren	-5	$131,602
T14	Rico Hoey	-5	$131,602
T14	Ludvig Aberg	-5	$131,602
T25	Brian Harman	-4	$67,735
T25	Corey Conners	-4	$67,735
T25	Justin Lower	-4	$67,735
T25	Max Homa	-4	$67,735
T25	Christiaan Bezuidenhout	-4	$67,735
T25	Nick Hardy	-4	$67,735
T25	Lucas Glover	-4	$67,735
T25	Mark Hubbard	-4	$67,735
T33	Robby Shelton	-3	$49,067
T33	Garrick Higgo	-3	$49,067
T33	Kevin Chappell	-3	$49,067
T33	Chez Reavie	-3	$49,067
T33	Austin Eckroat	-3	$49,067
T33	Alexander Bjork	-3	$49,067
T39	Kevin Yu	-2	$37,260
T39	Nate Lashley	-2	$37,260
T39	Ben Griffin	-2	$37,260
T39	Aaron Baddeley	-2	$37,260
T39	Bud Cauley	-2	$37,260
T39	Stewart Cink	-2	$37,260
T45	Kevin Streelman	-1	$26,772
T45	Victor Perez	-1	$26,772
T45	Davis Thompson	-1	$26,772
T45	Vincent Norrman	-1	$26,772
T45	Webb Simpson	-1	$26,772
T45	Ryan Moore	-1	$26,772
T51	Lanto Griffin	E	$21,988
T51	Adam Svensson	E	$21,988
T51	J.J. Spaun	E	$21,988
T51	Joe Highsmith	E	$21,988
T51	C.T. Pan	E	$21,988
T51	Tyler Duncan	E	$21,988
T51	Martin Laird	E	$21,988
T58	Hayden Springer	1	$20,148
T58	Aaron Rai	1	$20,148
T58	Maverick McNealy	1	$20,148
T58	David Lipsky	1	$20,148
T58	Harry Hall	1	$20,148
T58	Dylan Wu	1	$20,148
T58	Bronson Burgoon	1	$20,148
T58	Carl Yuan	1	$20,148
T58	Andrew Novak	1	$20,148
T58	Josh Teater	1	$20,148
T58	Parker Coody	1	$20,148
T69	Charley Hoffman	2	$18,860
T69	Matti Schmid	2	$18,860
T69	Vince Whaley	2	$18,860
T72	Brandt Snedeker	3	$18,400
T72	Kevin Kisner	3	$18,400
74	Pierceson Coody	4	$18,124
T75	Nicolai Hojgaard	5	$17,756
T75	Collin Morikawa	5	$17,756
T75	Tom Whitney	5	$17,756
T78	Ben Kohles	6	$17,204
T78	Beau Hossler	6	$17,204
T78	Ryo Hisatsune	6	$17,204
81	Ben Silverman	7	$16,836
82	Ryan McCormick	10	$16,652

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