TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP

June 26, 2026

Akshay Bhatia

TPC River Highlands

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Akshay, you equaled your career low round with a 62. Excellent playing. If we can get some comments.

AKSHAY BHATIA: Yeah, hit it nice off the tee. I feel like I hit a lot of good golf shots and, yeah, putted really nice, made some long ones. Did that kind of similar to yesterday.

I know how this golf course can play. You know, you got to kind of keep making birdies and try and limit mistakes, and I did a nice job of that today.

Q. I think you've made over 250 feet worth of putts in two rounds. What do you see on the greens that's freed you up like that?

AKSHAY BHATIA: I feel like I've putted really good the whole year. I went through a stretch where when the greens were as good or consistent, even though I hit good putts, they just weren't going in.

Last week was a big factor of that, you know, Poa annua and wind and a bunch of things like that. So I feel like I kind of showed up this week, you know, did my same stuff, and my speed has been really good this week. I've had pretty stress-free putts . Missed a couple of short ones, but that's going to happen.

Q. Akshay, I'm going to quote your caddie, Joey Greiner, on this. He said you have the best feet in the game in terms of AimPoint reads. Two questions: One, what do you work on when you are working on AimPoint and feeling those percentages? Two, when you come to a week like this after a week where you almost have to putt really defensively, what changes in your mind here when that doesn't happen anymore and you can be kind of aggressive?

AKSHAY BHATIA: Yeah, I work a lot on -- I mean, I set up every week 1, 2, 3 percents on, like, playing to zero percents. So I try and get the calibration of that, work on my arm bend, speed of the greens.

I think I've done it for so long that I know -- I have a general idea of what it feels like now. Joe and I go around the green. We'll throw a ChapStick around, and I'll try and guess the percentage. If I'm within a half percent, I know I'm in a good spot.

Arnold Palmer was one of those weeks where I was legit within, like, .1 every time on the putting green. So some weeks you just feel great, and some weeks it's just harder.

But I just worked so hard on it. You know, I'm consistent with it, and I think that's what it takes to be a good green reader or a good putter. You see that with a lot of guys how they practice.

I need the second question again, sorry.

Q. Coming from a week last week where you kind of have to putt defensively all week to here where you can kind of be more aggressive, is there a mindset change, or it's natural?

AKSHAY BHATIA: No, I think you free up more when you see the golf ball rolling better. I think that's -- part of it last week is you're trying not to leave yourself 4- to 5-footers. Here you can be more aggressive, which is nice.

But when you are hitting your lines and you are hitting your spots and your speed is good, then, you know, the hole gets big. It's a good feeling when you do have great greens.

Q. Akshay, after the win at Bay Hill, how did that change your comfort level at all playing in some of these big events, signature events, major championships?

AKSHAY BHATIA: Yeah, you think it would be easier, but I think -- Joe and I talk about it so much about expectations gets so high after you win. So that's hard to manage, you know, because you feel like you're on top of the world. You get more upset when you hit it to 20 feet versus 15 feet, certain putts don't go in when they did when you do win.

Having a perspective shift is hard, but it definitely helps that I know I can win on hard golf courses and against some of the greatest fields on the PGA TOUR.

I had a great conversation with Jacob Bridgeman about it. You're going to have your highs, and you're going to have your stretches of great golf. Sometimes you're going to have your lows, and it's not going to go as well.

He has such a good perspective on the bigger outcome of it, not just singular events, but 10 to 15 years, I want to be like Adam Scott playing, you know, at a peak at 45 years old and hitting it as far and as good as he does.

There's such a bigger perspective on that than just comfort level, you know, week to week.

Q. Is this the first time you've been dealing with that sort of expectation shift?

AKSHAY BHATIA: No, probably not. I mean, I think I've gone through stretches of really good golf and really not-so-good golf and chasing certain things. It just happens in this sport. It drives you crazy. You never know when you are going to get. That's why I love it.

You're never going to be perfect. There's just too many factors to get overwhelmed even though we do.

Q. Coming from the caddie side of things, it's always a pleasure when we catch you and Joey in a conversation out there. It seems very natural. It doesn't seem forced. There's not arguments. It's just discussions. Describe your relationship with him out there.

AKSHAY BHATIA: I'm so fortunate to have Joe on my bag and as a friend, something I really wanted all through last year. He had so many great options, and Joe is an amazing caddie.

It's been definitely a different shift because normally I've had caddies who I've wanted to be right there with me and, like, watch me do my putting and tell me what to do. Joe kind of has so many friends out here. You know, he'll be chatting over here; I'll be doing my stuff.

But, yeah, I think the start of the year we're always on the same topic with club selection, certain things. Then, yeah, after we won, it definitely changed a little bit. We weren't always on the same page. I'm an overthinker, and he's very to it.

I think after last week, you know, we kind of looked at each other and said, We're back, we're on the same page. He's just a great guy to be around, and I'm very fortunate to have him in my corner.