Bhatia makes cut, finishes T-42 at Web.com's RTJ Championship

Akshay Bhatia, 17, made it to the weekend for the first time in a professional event. It just took until the weekend to figure that out.

After Monday qualifying into the Web.com Tour’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship, Bhatia opened with rounds of 73-70. He had to finish his second round on Saturday morning, as weather passed through the Prattville, Ala., area on Friday and cut play short, and found out he was guaranteed two more rounds.

Bhatia followed with 74-70 at the Senator course, and at 1 under for the week, finished T-42. He moved up 11 spots with his final-round 70.

Before this week, Bhatia had tried his hand at several Monday qualifiers only to fall short. He skated into the RTJ Championship field with the last of six spots.

Last month, Bhatia was invited to play the Valspar Championship on a sponsor exemption. Even though he was well-received, and garnered considerable attention, he failed to make the cut.

Expect to see Bhatia next week at the Sage Valley Junior Invitational, one of the most prestigious events in junior golf. Bhatia will be trying to defend his title.