Akshay Bhatia has been accused off anchoring during the Arnold Palmer Invitational -Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited
(Reach Publishing Services Limited)
Akshay Bhatia’s recent triumph at the Arnold Palmer Invitational has been overshadowed by allegations of cheating from viewers.
Bhatia secured victory in Bay Hill, Orlando, by defeating fellow American Daniel Berger on the first sudden-death playoff hole. Berger, who had led from the opening round, missed a crucial seven-foot par putt on the 18th, while Bhatia held steady with an eagle to claim his third PGA Tour title.
Despite recording four bogeys on Sunday, Bhatia claimed the $4 million prize, channeling his frustration after the third bogey into a strong comeback. However the win has been clouded after the 24-year-old was accused of anchoring. This comes after devastated Bhatia opened up on suffering a family tragedy just minutes after his victory.
• Scottie Scheffler embroiled in caddie controversy after PGA Tour rival’s actions
• NFL teams can capitalize on new free agency rule after Steelers proposal
Fans on social media were outraged at the alleged cheating. One X user said: “Bhatia is anchoring and no one cares because he’s a very likable guy. The rule sucks, and he’s taking advantage of a loophole (saying he’s just touching his shirt, not his chest). The putter should be the shortest club in the bag.”
Another user added: “Every week I watch him anchor and putt lights out and every week the PGA Tour does jack s— about it.”
Its not the first time this season that Bhatia has been accused of cheating. During the second round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a well-known golf social media account shared a photo of Bhatia on the green with a long putter.
“Is Akshay anchoring here?,” asked WaysToGolf on its digital platform. “I am not accusing. But there is a point to the question. The USGA and R&A screwed up royally when they banned anchoring but didn’t ban putter length. Because touching clothing is legal, it’s impossible to detect now.”
Akshay went to the comment section to back himself up on the Instagram post. “Not anchoring,” wrote Bhatia. “Literally 2 inches short of my chest haha.”
Bhatia revealed that he played the back nine of the final round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational fueled by anger, using it to drive his performance.
“Yeah, I told Joe, I was like, we shot 4-under yesterday on this side, and I was like, let’s just try and do it,” said Bhatia after the final round.
• Donald Trump ‘golfing after bombing children’ as Gavin Newsom hits out
• Golf star stranded in Middle East with heavily pregnant wife issues plea
“I missed that putt on 9, that was just a lack of focus. And then I just had, I played with some anger for those couple holes.
“That putt on 11 was a huge bonus for me. That really switched my momentum. Up-and-down on 12. And then, yeah, I just hit it great — and the shot on 16, Joe said, ‘Try to hit the best 6-iron of your life,’ and I did. So, yeah, it was really cool.
“Daniel played amazing. This game is so crazy, it’s been crazy for these last couple weeks, watching Bridgeman win and then watching Nico win, and so you just never know what can happen in this game.”
It comes after Bhatia made an alarming ‘angry’ confession during the round.