Dubai Desert Classic: Indian-American Akshay Bhatia looking forward to his debut at upcoming golf event

The Dubai Desert Classic is scheduled to begin on January 16 and conclude on January 19, 2025.

Akshay Bhatia is proud of his Indian roots, though he was born and raised in the United States. The 22-year-old wiry golfer, who skipped college to turn professional, has since won twice on the PGA Tour and risen to the Top-30 of the world.

The proof of his arrival came in the form of a maiden Masters appearance in 2024, where he cut, and towards the end of 2024 he played the Tour Championship, which is limited to the Top 30, then finished runner-up in Japan and made his maiden appearance at Tiger Woods-hosted Hero World Challenge in Bahamas.

That he had won his maiden Korn Ferry event – the second rung to the PGA Tour – in the Bahamas two years ago, was a happy coincidence. He is now thrilled to be fulfilling a long-held ambition as he prepares to make his Rolex Series debut at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

Bhatia’s parents grew up in India and then went to the US, where Akshay took to golf and became extremely good at it. Though Bhatia nurses ambitions to play the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup for the US, he has a lot of affection for the country where his parents grew up.

“I have heard so much about India and I want to go there sometime soon,” he said recently while playing in the Tiger Woods event, Hero World Challenge, in the Bahamas. “My mother was there for a family wedding and we heard a lot about it.”

The rising star’s participation continues a tournament tradition of attracting leading American players to golf’s oldest competition in the Middle East, following on from Collin Morikawa, Cameron Young and Brian Harman in recent years.

Bhatia, a winner on both the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR, is part of an array of talent on show at Emirates Golf Club, with two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy returning to defend his title.

“I’ve always wanted to be here, and thankfully it worked in the schedule this year,” said Bhatia. “And this is kind of the one event that I wanted to kind of check off my list and so far, it’s been amazing. So I hope to kind of come back more and more.”

Bhatia is one of seven of the world’s top 30 in the field for the 36th edition of the $9 million tournament and claimed his first DP World Tour and PGA TOUR title at the co-sanctioned Barracuda Championship in 2023.

“I’m still getting my foot out on the PGA TOUR,” he said. “So I’m hoping once I kind of get to the level where I have time to come over here, and it’s a little easier to travel and it just makes sense.

“I mean. I want to travel globally. I want to meet a lot of different people and see different cultures and so it’s really enjoyable for me and especially being young, it’s nice to have the opportunity.”

The 22-year-old was a decorated amateur, and represented the United States in the Junior Presidents Cup, Junior Ryder Cup and Walker Cup before turning professional in 2019.

Despite his rise up the Official World Golf Ranking – particularly over the last 12 months – Bhatia isn’t looking too far ahead despite being in the picture for the United States Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black in September.

“It’s not one of my main focuses,” he said.

“Making the team is amazing and important and of course, I want to be on that team, but it’s not the focus that I have for this year.

“So I feel like good golf, and some of the other goals I have, will help me kind of get to that Ryder Cup”, he says.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram