Akshay Bhatia back in contention with new mental approach at Charles Schwab Challenge

FORT WORTH, Texas — Akshay Bhatia kept a secret through 36 holes at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

He declined to share much about it Friday afternoon. He hinted that it had to do with his mental approach, a fresh outlook he decided to try in Texas after a frustrating stretch of golf since The PLAYERS Championship. Whatever it is, it worked. He shot 67-66 on a drying and quickening Colonial Country Club to start the weekend at minus-7, tied for fifth and four shots out of the lead.

“I came here with a very different mindset that I haven't had this year,” Bhatia said. “Today has felt very similar to a lot of rounds I've had where I get off to nice starts and then it feels like such a grind to try and have a good score. Today I flipped it a little bit.”

Bhatia opened the season with four made cuts and a pair of ninth-place finishes. He tied for third at THE PLAYERS.

His next start came at the Valero Texas Open, a tournament he won in 2024. He missed the cut in San Antonio after rounds of 74-70.

The next five starts included two missed cuts, including the partnership-style Zurich Classic of New Orleans, and no finish higher than a share of 42nd place.

His statistics tell the story best. He ranks ninth this season in Strokes Gained: Putting. He’s 46th in Approach the Green. So far, so good. But he’s 118th off the Tee.

“I have one or two really bad golf swings that, I mean, cost me a lot of shots,” Bhatia said.

Most of them happen with the driver. He cracked the face of his gamer at the Masters. Nothing has been the same since. Most of his misses drift to the left, a block for the left-hander. Some snap right. So it’s not just one problem. It’s two.

“My golf swing is nowhere close where I want it to be,” Bhatia said. “I can get away with it with my irons just because I hit so many off-speed shots. I have pretty good face control there. When it comes do driver, I step up and don't really know where it's going to go sometimes.”

But few of the twisting and turning fairways of a firming Colonial really demand driver anyway. Bhatia used his on just five holes. He also brought a shorter, 10-degree mini-driver.

The result: nine birdies, two bogeys and plenty of building confidence. Bhatia still missed nearly half of Colonial’s fairways (13 of 28), but the secret came in handy.

“Just a little more determination,” he said.