From L-R – Akshay Bhatia, Sahith Theegala & Aaron Rai
The three Indian-origin golfers making waves on the PGA Tour this year, Americans Akshay Bhatia and Sahith Theegala, along with Briton Aaron Rai— have made history by advancing to the finals of the US$100 million FedEx Cup Playoffs, the Tour Championship, played this week at East Lake Golf Course in Atlanta, Georgia.
Theegala leads the trio in the FedEx Cup standings, ranked 12th, followed by Bhatia at 19th, and Rai at 28th. According to the unique Tour Championship format, Theegala will start the tournament at 3-under, while points leader Scottie Scheffler starts at 10-under. Bhatia begins at 2-under, while Rai will start at even-par.
Theegala has been selected for the U.S. Presidents Cup team, currently sitting 6th in the rankings. Bhatia, ranked 14th, has a strong chance of breaking into the top 12 to secure a spot on the team for the tournament scheduled to play against the Rest of the World team except Europe for the Ryder Cup-style team event on September 26-29 in Montreal, Canada.
Following the final round, a total of $100 million will be divided among the top 30 players. This marks the first time in history that three Indian-origin players have reached the playoffs together. In 2022, Theegala became the first Indian-origin player to qualify.
Tour Championship Format Explained:
Beginning in 2019, the PGA Tour introduced a new format giving the No. 1 ranked player the best chance to win the season-ending bonus of the FedEx Cup. The player leading in FedEx Cup points at the start of the season-ending Tour Championship begins at a score of 10-under-par. The player in second place starts at 8-under, the third at 7-under, the fourth at 6-under, and the fifth at 5-under. Players ranked 6th through 10th start at 4-under, those ranked 11th through 15th at 3-under, and so on, down to the players ranked 26th to 30th, who start at even-par.
For the purposes of the Official World Golf Ranking, only the aggregate scores are considered, with the starting scores relative to par being disregarded.
RELATED: Indian origin trio advance in FedEx Cup Playoffs
Here’s a snapshot of the three players seasons:
| Sahith Theegala | Akshay Bhatia | Aaron Rai | |
| Age | 26 | 22 | 29 |
| FedEx Cup Rankings | 12 | 19 | 28 |
| Wins | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Runner-Up | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Top-10 | 7 | 3 | 6 |
| Tournaments Played | 23 | 25 | 24 |
| Made Cuts | 19 | 17 | 20 |
| Prize Money | US$ 8.2mn | US$ 5.3mn | US$ 4.6mn |
Photo – PGA TOUR