Bhatia remains on top at Texas Open
FIELD LEVEL MEDIA
Akshay Bhatia shot 68 on Saturday to remain atop the leaderboard with a fourshot lead in his bid for a wire-to-wire win at the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.
Bhatia sits at 15-under par for the tournament, four shots ahead of Denny McCarthy, who shot 67. Bhatia had a fivestroke lead after 36 holes.
Brendon Todd (70 on Saturday) sits solo in third at 8 under. Hideki Matsuyama made a giant leap up the leaderboard with a 6-under 66, but he’s eight shots off the pace in a tie for fourth.
Bhatia, 22, is on the verge for qualifying for his first major. The Texas Open champion will receive the final berth into next week’s Masters, if not already qualified.
He carded six birdies against two bogeys for his round.
Augusta National Women’s Amateur
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Lottie Woad typically calls an Uber on Saturday mornings around 7:30 a.m. to get a lift to the golf course. The Florida State sophomore doesn’t have a car in the U.S., and while most college students her age are hitting snooze, Woad hits the practice facility. The Englishwoman’s work ethic is legendary.
“You think you work hard, and she works 10 times harder,” said teammate Charlotte Heath. “We have pros at our club, and Lottie outworks them all.”
When the moment came for that meticulous preparation to pay off on one of the biggest stages at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the lion-hearted Woad delivered a finish for the ages.
After USC’s Bailey Shoemaker posted a course-record 6-under 66 to take the clubhouse lead at 7 under, Woad birdied three of the last four holes to overtake her. Woad joined Arnold Palmer in 1960 and Mark O’Meara in 1998 as champions at Augusta National Golf Club who birdied their final two holes to win by one shot.
“I was hoping it was going to be like a nice, stress-free day,” said Woad, “but it was far from that. In the end, it’s a cooler way to finish.”
Woad had English national coach Steve Robinson on the bag, and the pair put together a meticulous plan to attack the final round. They knew which hole locations they wanted to play short, and which ones were better to be long. With Woad’s magnificent approach play all week, most of the time, things went according to plan.
The mess of a bogey on the par-5 13th, however, proved an exception. Robinson gave her a pep talk after that hole and again on the 14th, though he wouldn’t divulge what was said.
The Augusta National Women’s Amateur is unique in that the 36-hole leader must sleep on the lead not one but two nights. Robinson said they talked about the fact someone would come for her. Even though she led by two going into the final round, it wouldn’t be surprising if she had to chase down the stretch. Woad did her best to embrace it. “If been told before this week that I’d be two back with four to play, I would have been like, yeah, perfect, that sounds great,” said Woad. “To be in the mix on the back nine at Augusta is something that everyone dreams about.”
When Shoemaker approached the 18th green on Saturday – five groups ahead of Woad – fans seemed almost oblivious to the kind of round she’d put together. They offered a polite applause as she walked up to the green with a few muffled whoops.
A brilliant two-putt from the back of the green brought a little more reaction. But it wasn’t until a man raised both hands and yelled “Six under! Great round!” that Shoemaker finally started to get a proper reaction for a record day.
She gave one more glance back at the giant scoreboard on No. 18 as she walked off the green, leading by one.
Woad, ever the board-watcher herself, knew exactly what needed to be done. — Golfweek