Scottsdale, Arizona, Feb 6: Akshay Bhatia made a solid start to his WM Phoenix Open campaign with a 3-under 68 at TPC Scottsdale to sit T-13 after the opening round, bouncing back well after missing the cut in his previous two starts. Fellow Indian-American Sahith Theegala opened with an even-par 70 and was placed T-38, while Sudarshan Yellamaraju struggled to a 3-over 74 and was T-105 as the first round was halted due to fading light.
Chris Gotterup produced a superb bogey-free 8-under 63 to take a two-shot lead in the opening round, setting the early pace on a lively day in the Arizona desert. The 26-year-old, who closed with a 64 at the Sony Open in Hawaii earlier this season and tied 18th at Torrey Pines last week, finally found his touch at TPC Scottsdale after missing the cut in his previous two appearances at the venue.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler endured a rare off-day, carding a 2-over 73 to sit T-89, leaving himself with plenty of work to do to make the cut. Scheffler, who has been remarkably consistent over the last two seasons, found himself 10 shots adrift of the lead and at risk of missing a cut for the first time since the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Scheffler, In his seven previous starts, has never been lower than T-4 at Hero World Challenge and the Tour Championships, but won the Open, the BMW, Procore and American Express and
Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka also struggled, managing just one birdie in a 75 in only his second start since being reinstated on the PGA TOUR.
England’s Matt Fitzpatrick provided one of the highlights of the day, matching the back-nine record with a stunning 7-under 29 on his inward half to post 6-under 65. Sam Stevens led a group of four players at 66, while a total of 26 players shot 68 or better before play was suspended due to darkness.
Bhatia’s round gathered momentum after an early setback. Starting on the 10th tee, he bogeyed his opening hole but responded with birdies at the 13th and a strong run through the middle of his round to move to 3-under. He showed composure down the stretch, closing with a string of pars to keep himself firmly in contention heading into the second round.
Theegala also began on the back nine and mixed his scoring. After a bogey on the 14th, he produced a moment of brilliance by holing a 15-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 15th. Further birdies on the second, sixth and seventh briefly pushed him under par, but dropped shots on the eighth and ninth saw him settle for a 70.
Gotterup’s round was built on aggressive putting and fearless shot-making. He rolled in a 27-foot eagle putt from just off the green on the par-5 13th, soaked up the stadium-hole roars at the par-3 16th with a 7-footer for his third straight birdie, and capped a sensational back nine with another birdie at the 18th to turn in 6-under 30. He added further birdies on the par-5 third and the long par-3 seventh to complete a sparkling 63.
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