Kevin Kisner has lauded Akshay Bhatia and praised a decision that he has made in recent months that could be huge for his career.
Bhatia is one of a number of younger players to have already made a big statement this season. The 24-year-old threatened to win at Pebble Beach in February, before getting across the line at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
His victory at Bay Hill came after a playoff with Daniel Berger. With that, Bhatia has now claimed all three of his PGA Tour wins in overtime.
Kevin Kisner praises one decision Akshay Bhatia has made
The youngster has not finished outside the top 16 in any of his last five starts. Bhatia is currently sat third in the FedEx Cup standings.
He is showing that he has enormous potential. The next step now is to surely start making an impact in the major championships, with Bhatia boasting just one top 20 finish in the four biggest events of the year.
It seems that Bhatia has made a move which will boost those hopes. Speaking on the Fore Play Podcast, Kevin Kisner outlined how impressed he has been by his Jupiter Links teammate.
He also suggested that Bhatia has made an inspired decision bringing Joe Greiner in as his caddie.
“Professionally, I think Akshay is mature beyond his years. The first time I hung out with him, playing golf probably was at TGL. I’ve known the kid just from watching his name on leaderboards. But his brain is more mature than 24, about how he handles his business and goes about himself professionally. I don’t really see him as a little kid over there. He kind of just fits in now. He laughs at how stupid we are, and old, but he’s a baller. He’s got big balls, he’s ready to be put in the pressure cooker. He likes being in the heat and we love that s— on our team. Last night, he makes that putt with the hammer thrown at him, which probably is the pivotal moment in the match. That’s what he thrives on. I think that’s why he’s so good in playoffs,” he said.
“I love his caddie that he hired. I think that’s huge. I love Joe Greiner, and I just love the way he talks to you out there. I was watching some of that Chasing Sunday from The Players and I was like damn, I need to get Greiner to caddie for me one week whenever Akshay’s not playing. I need some of that in my life. I think that’s going to be a huge help to his career, having Joe out there that’s an older, veteran guy. Been there but can still relate to Akshay’s age, so I think that’s going to be a great team. I’m just super impressed with the way he handles his business, his life, his golf.”
Akshay Bhatia explains how his partnership with Joe Greiner came about
Bhatia is under no illusions when it comes to what a coup it is to have Greiner take over his bag.
Speaking on the same podcast, Bhatia explained how their partnership came about back in December – after one or two bumps in the road.
“It’s been very exciting to start working with him. I really wanted to work with him when him and Max [Homa] split last year. He was the first guy I was like, man, everything seems to align,” he said.
“We’re from the same town in California, grew up playing the same municipal, so me, Max and Joe, but they were obviously older. And then him being left-handed. There were so many things where I was like this is aligning for me. So when I first talked to him, he obviously went in the other direction with Collin, which I totally understood. It’s like the girl that you really, really want but she’s out of your league, and you’re just hoping for that one chance.”
While it is difficult for most of us to have a good idea of just how influential each caddie is, it felt significant when Greiner helped Justin Thomas end his lengthy wait for a PGA Tour win at last year’s RBC Heritage.
The stint with Collin Morikawa did not work out. However, the early signs suggest that Bhatia and Greiner could be a perfect match.
