Akshay Bhatia’s victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational sparked debate over his broomstick putting technique, with fans questioning whether it breaches PGA Tour rules
Jordan Spieth has had his say(Image: Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Jordan Spieth has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Akshay Bhatia’s triumph at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Bhatia clinched victory at Bay Hill after beating fellow American Daniel Berger on the first sudden-death play-off hole.
Berger had been out in front since the opening round, but missed a vital seven-foot par putt on the 18th. Bhatia, in contrast, remained composed with an eagle to secure his third PGA Tour title.
Despite carding four bogeys on Sunday, Bhatia claimed the £3million top prize with yet another play-off victory. The 24-year-old became only the eighth player in PGA Tour history to win his first three titles via play-offs.
However, his victory has been clouded by controversy over his putting method. Bhatia topped the field in strokes-gained putting (13.867) across all four rounds, relying on his 50-inch broomstick putter to dominate.
Fans on social media questioned whether Bhatia was anchoring his broom-handle putter against his chest – a method that is prohibited in professional golf. The anchoring ban was introduced in 2016.
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The USGA and R&A implemented Rule 14-1b, preventing players from anchoring a club against their body or using an anchor point during the stroke. Long putters are permitted, but they can’t be rested against the body or stabilised using a fixed point on the torso.
After other PGA Tour stars shared their opinions, Spieth maintained that anchoring is prohibited – but suggested Bhatia’s putting technique was likely different. “In the rules, you can’t anchor,” Spieth explained to Kay Adams on FanDuel’s ‘Up and Adams!’
Bhatia’s technique has attracted attention(Image: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
“Anchoring is if that putter was touching his sternum up top. You can arm-bar now, but you can’t anchor it against your sternum. There’s a skill to it, and if it were that easy to do and made everyone that much better, everybody would do it. It’s a skill to do. He’s been doing it for a long time.”
Whilst Spieth isn’t a fan of Bhatia’s perfectly legal club from his own viewpoint, the 32-year-old has no problem with others using the method. He stated: “I would like the putter to be the smallest club in your bag because it’s the shortest club in my bag, and I do believe that it forces more skill.
“It uses your hands more, which makes you have to be more athletic and deal with stuff that comes up a little bit more. But at the same time, I could easily go do that if I thought it was going to make me better. It would be a hard skill to learn; he’s just always done it that way.”
The American won the Arnold Palmer Invitational following a play-off(Image: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
Bhatia has firmly rejected any suggestions of wrongdoing with his putting technique. He insists his stroke complies with the rules, and just last month responded to social media commentary about his style.
He posted: “Not anchoring. Literally 2 inches short of my chest haha.” The golfer has received backing from fellow PGA Tour professionals, including Kim Si Woo, who believe the controversy is primarily being driven by social media speculation.
Bhatia will be hoping for similar success on the greens at The Players Championship this week, where Rory McIlroy is defending his crown at TPC Sawgrass after withdrawing from the Arnold Palmer with a back injury.