How One Key Change Sparked Akshay Bhatia's Career-Low 62 to Lead FedEx St. Jude
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Germany's Matti Schmid struck the opening tee ball to open the FedEx St. Jude Championship at 8:20 a.m. ET, but by the end of the day it was Akshay Bhatia who stole the spotlight to open the PGA Tour playoffs.
The 23-year-old fired an 8-under 62, his career-low round on Tour, to grab the solo lead in the opening leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Lowest career round when it matters most 🔥
Akshay Bhatia is now projected No. 3 in the #FedExCup Standings after a Thursday 62. pic.twitter.com/Oqywdj71FN — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 7, 2025
His score was just one shot shy of the course record last set by Justin Thomas in 2023. With this, Bhatiya also marked his third career 18-hole lead/co-lead, and his first of the season. His previous low was 63, recorded six times, scored recently at the 3M Open's Round 3.
"I felt like I wasn't putting great throughout the day, but then those last couple putts managed to drop," Bhatia told reporters after his round when asked about his day. "All in all, I felt like Iron Play was nice."
Despite the career-best score, Bhatia admitted there's still room for improvement.
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 07: Akshay Bhatia hits a tee shot on the seventh hole during the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship 2025 at TPC Southwind on August 07, 2025 in Memphis,...
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 07: Akshay Bhatia hits a tee shot on the seventh hole during the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship 2025 at TPC Southwind on August 07, 2025 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by) More
"I just need to kind of clean up ... like a couple wedge shots, and get a little more comfortable with the putter, but all in all, I felt like I was driving it nice."
Apart from scores, what truly seems to have shifted for the two-time Tour winner is his mindset. After a frustrating final round at the 3M Open, where a "furious" Bhatia sat in his hotel contemplating, he made a conscious decision to seek more peace on the course.
"I've been looking at a lot of numbers that I don't need to look at FedEx Cup, world ranking, and I still catch myself doing it," he expressed during the post-round media conference.
"But I'm just really trying to have a little more peace on the golf course. I think this game can consume your life, your happiness, and so I'm just trying to figure out ways to change that because I feel like I don't really want to live my life based off of an unstable game. That's going to drive me nuts."
That shift in perspective paid off Thursday. Bhatia closed his day one with an eagle on 16, followed by birdies on 17 and 18.
Now he sits atop the leaderboard, followed by Tommy Fleetwood (7-under), who birdied his final four holes to finish solo second.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, playing for the first time since his win at The Open, carded a 3-under 67, finishing five shots back. He started strong with birdies on 2 and 3, added two more on the back nine but bogeyed the final hole after a three-putt from 70 feet.
"Today was a good day. I did some solid stuff," Scheffler shared with reporters on Thursday. "Felt like I was close to playing a really great round but ended up with a solid round. Overall, a decent start."
For Round 2 on Friday, Bhatia teed off at 11:50 a.m. ET, again paired with Harry Hall, while Scheffler went out earlier at 10:35 a.m. ET alongside Sepp Straka.
More Golf: Jordan Spieth Reveals Ryder Cup Tension With Cheeky Keegan Bradley Comment
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