Akshay Bhatia’s Hero Indian Open ends in MC after first-round rules blunder

Akshay Bhatia quickly found out how brutal DLF Country Club is this week’s Hero Indian Open.

The Arnold Palmer Invitational winner arrived in Delhi as the betting favorite, but his stay was short-lived. Truth be told, it was a nightmare for Bhatia from the opening swing.

Starting on par-4 10th hole, Bhatia ripped his drive left and out of bounds, leading to a double-bogey six. He birdied No. 11 but then dropped shots on 13 and 14 before his DLF horror show reached its peak on the par-5 15th hole.

After playing his second shot on the par 5, Bhatia realized he had just hit the wrong ball. After making the swing, Bhatia found his actual ball nearby, notified a rules official and continued to play the hole with the proper ball. That meant a two-shot penalty on the hole, and Bhatia ultimately walked off with a triple-bogey 8. While that breach of Rule 6.3c was costly, it could have sent Bhatia home after just a few holes. Per the rule, if the player who plays the wrong ball does not correct the mistake by continuing to play the hole with the right ball before making a stroke to begin another hole, then they are disqualified.

You can view the rule here.

Bhatia finished his front nine (the back) by double-bogeying No. 18 to shoot 44. He made three birdies coming home to shoot a 5-over 77, but knew it could have been worse.

“Glad I didn’t shoot 80!” Bhatia told the DP World Tour after his first round. “Yeah, tough day – hit the wrong ball, which was very unfortunate, and just did not play good on the first nine.

“Shooting three under on my back side was great and look, this golf course is hard so if I can just try and get it back to even par, I think it’ll be a nice comeback for me. I’ll never give up and that’s kind of the goal.”

In his first round at DLF, Bhatia found what many on the European circuit have long known: it’s a golf course that can bludgeon you if you are even just a hair off.

“It’s a tough golf course,” Bhatia said. “I mean, I hit it OB on the first hole so it’s just, like, you can hit shots that are five, 10 yards off your line and just be really in a tough position.”

First-round leader Freddy Schott, who opened with a 6-under 66, put it best.

“I guess it might be the hardest course this year. Your game has to be so good overall, there’s not a thing which can leak,” Schott said.

Schott played the next two rounds in 1 over and trails defending champion Eugenio Charcarra by five heading into the final round.

As for Bhatia, he made his way around DLF on Friday in even par and missed the cut.

For some, two rounds at DLF are more than enough.