Native North Carolina Golfer Playing In First Masters

Akshay Bhatia has just provided me with another "brush with greatness moment" with young golfers.  I've had a couple recently thanks to my son's career in junior golf in North Carolina.  A friend that he's played many rounds with over the years, Caleb Suratt, was a Walker Cup hero last summer is now having success on the LIV Tour.  And last weekend, Akshay Bhatia won the Valero Texas Open in dramatic fashion.  In doing so, Akshay has qualified to play in his first Masters Tournament this week.

Hogan (my son) is slightly younger that Akshay.  I remember when both boys were around 11-13.  Pinehurst, in addition to being one of the most prestigious golf destinations in the world has always been wonderfully generous to junior golf.  Young golfers are able to get exposed to playing all of their courses in tournament play for VERY reasonable rates.  Akshay Bhatia grew up in the Wake Forest area and was in the age group above my son's and it seemed like he was constantly in the group right behind him.  Consequently, I saw a TON of this REALLY skinny kid with thick glasses and great golf swing just tear up the junior circuit.

If there was a junior tournament in North Carolina, trust me Akshay Bhatia won it.  He probably won it twice.  And he did it all before he turned 17.  I bring up that age because it was then that Akshay and his parents made an interesting decision that had a lot of us fellow golf parents shaking our collective heads.  The Bhatia family decided that what was best for him and his future in golf was NOT to go to college (Akshay had full scholarship offers anywhere he wanted to go), but rather to turn professional.

And it wasn't exactly a smooth transition.  More often than not, when I would check on Akshay Bhatia's progress in pro golf, he was struggling.  I never doubted his talent.  It just had to be tough to be 17 trying to live in a world with men who were in a completely different phase of life than you.  Golf is as much (if not more) a mental game as a physical one.  However, within a couple of years, Akshay was able to play regularly on the PGA Tour and last week broke through for his first win in San Antonio.

With that victory, Akshay Bhatia became the final qualifier for this week's Masters Tournament.  The Masters Tournament is professional golf's premier tournament (IMO) and the season's first of four major championships.

I look forward to many, "Hey, I know that guy!" moments this week while watching Akshay Bhatia.  And many more in the weeks and years to come.

The field is set for the 2024 Masters Tournament, as now we have the Masters Round 1 and 2 groupings and tee times, with golf's first Major of the year teeing off Thursday.

(Note: This story has been updated to reflect delayed start times for Thursday's opening round due to weather.)

The defending champion Jon Rahm will start the defense of his title at 1 p.m. on Thursday, with Matt Fitzpatrick and Nick Dunlap joining him on the course.

Play begins with the traditional honorary starters teeing off at 10:10 a.m. Thursday (previously 7:40), as Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson will hold the honors again this year.

As always, everyone will be following Tiger Woods, who heads to the course at 3:54 p.m. on Thursday, with Jason Day and Max Homa in the group.

The 1:12 p.m. grouping on Thursday has some serious power, with Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele all going out together.

The first official group of the day will be just a pairing, with Erik van Rooyen and Jake Knapp going out at 10:30 a.m. (previously at 8 a.m.). And the final group of the day on Thursday will be Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood teeing off at 4:30 p.m., which will pose problems with finishing on time.

Friday's groupings are all the same, but times will flip, as noted below.

Here's a look at the Masters Round 1 and 2 groupings and tee time, with Friday start times noted in parenthesis below each grouping: