Golf-From Drive, Chip & Putt to the Masters, Bhatia is living the dream

FILE PHOTO: Apr 7, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Akshay Bhatia poses with the championship trophy after winning on the first playoff hole during the final round of the Valero Texas Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo

AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) - Every kid in Augusta National's Drive, Chip & Putt competition dreams of one day returning to play the Masters and Akshay Bhatia will be the first to make that fantasy a reality on Thursday in a story that is developing into a Hollywood script.

If winning the Texas Open in a playoff over Denny McCarthy on Sunday to claim the last spot in the Masters field was not enough of a fairytale, Bhatia made it all the more dramatic when he dislocated his shoulder doing a massive fist pump after draining a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th to force extra holes.