Australia’s Cam Davis won the Rocket Mortgage Classic for the second time in
four years following a last-hole blunder from Akshay Bhatia.
Bhatia had a birdie putt from 32 feet on the 18th to win his third PGA Tour title but left it four feet short and also missed the par attempt.
That gifted the win to Davis, whose closing 70 had set a clubhouse target of 18 under which none of the other contenders were able to match at Detroit Golf Club.
Fellow Australian Min Woo Lee had birdied the 14th, 15th and 17th to claim a share of the lead only to bogey the last, while American Davis Thompson birdied the same holes to reach 17 under but left a birdie attempt on 18 short.
England’s Aaron Rai was part of the four-way tie for second after following a birdie on the 14th with four straight pars in a closing 72.
“From where I was a couple of weeks ago to today, it’s just completely different. I’m a little emotional actually,” Davis told CBS.
“I wouldn’t wish what happened to Akshay on anyone but I’ve done a lot of grinding to try and get myself out of a hole and to just all of a sudden do that, it’s pretty good.
“I’ve got so many people behind me that have helped me along the way. I had a lot of support to kind of get me out of the doldrums there. I saw a little bit of a spark last week but nothing to show this coming so this is great.”
Asked about the three-putt on the 18th, a disappointed Bhatia said: “That green’s old school, so a lot of slope, downhill left to right. It’s a tricky putt just to get the speed correct and I did such a good job all day of my speed being really good until that last hole.
Akshay Bhatia narrowly missed out on Rocket Mortgage Classic victory
“I hit a good putt, I probably just under-read it a little bit or it lacked a little bit of speed so nothing I can do about it.”
Rai, who had shared the lead with Bhatia after 54 holes, said: “Overall a good week. Obviously being in the position that we were in today, there was a great chance to maybe do a little bit more.
Aaron Rai mixed three birdies with three bogeys in his final round
“Got off to a really good start today, just a few too many loose shots and just didn’t really keep the round going as well as what I could have and as well as the last three days. That part was a little bit disappointing for sure, but so many positives to take. Yeah, really pleased with how my game feels overall.”
Cameron Young bogeyed two of his last three holes to finish three strokes back in tied-sixth alongside Eric Cole, Erik Van Rooyen and Rico Hoey.
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Thursday 4th July 7:30pm
What’s next?
The PGA Tour heads to Illinois next for the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run, where Austria’s Sepp Straka is defending champion. Early coverage begins on Thursday from 3.30pm via the red button and 7.30pm on Sky Sports Golf, ahead of full coverage from 9pm.
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