Akshay Bhatia produced a moment of magic late in his third round of the BMW Championship with the first hole-in-one of his PGA Tour career.
The left-hander achieved the feat at the 227-yard par-3 17th when his tee shot with a 5-iron bounced just in front of the pin before slowly but surely rolling into the hole, sending the Caves Valley crowd wild.
First ace of his career as he battles on the bubble! Akshay Bhatia is now projected into the Top 30 in the FedExCup after a hole-in-one! pic.twitter.com/YbvU9rERlFAugust 16, 2025
The ace was part of a hugely impressive four-under 66 that reignited Bhatia's bid to finish the tournament in the top 30 of the FedEx Cup standings and book his place in the last of the Playoffs, next week’s Tour Championship at East Lake.
After beginning the week just above the threshold in 29th, Bhatia's chances took a knock following a five-over 75 in the opening round before a much-improved one-under 69 on Friday.
However, it was on Saturday that he really came to life. As well as the hole-in-one at the 17th, he also made a hole-out eagle on the seventh before heading back to the clubhouse inside the top 30 of the FedEx Cup standings.
Keep it rolling, Akshay! 🔥A hole-out eagle and birdie on @AkshayBhatia_1's last three holes @BMWChamps.📺 @PGATOURLIVE on ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/EOTxN1R69xAugust 16, 2025
While the ace was the icing on the cake for Bhatia, it brought some more benefits in the form of a new car, a BMW iX. Meanwhile, it will give a young caddie a full four-year Evans Scholarship courtesy of BMW of North America.
Afterwards, Bhatia described the feeling of making his first PGA Tour hole-in-one, saying: “When that golf ball goes in, it was the craziest thing in the world.
“My caddie was pointing at the car and I'm like, don't even know what to do. I couldn't even feel my body. Still even going to 18 tee was pretty nuts how much adrenaline I had.”
While it was Bhatia’s first ace on the Tour, he revealed it was the sixth of his career – and it had been coming, adding: “This is six now. I've been close for a long, long time on Tour. Quail Hollow I hit the flag on 17.
“Mexico this year I hit it to like an inch. It's always been so, so close. Again, to have two hole-outs today was pretty insane.”
As for the new car, he revealed he doesn’t intend to keep it for himself. He explained: “I don't really necessarily need a new car: I'm pretty happy with what I've got. I think either I'll give it to my caddie or figure something out to where I can donate it to charity or something.”
