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If you haven’t heard of Akshay Bhatia before this past weekend, get ready to see a lot more from him.
The 21-year-old professional entered the final round of the Mexican Open in Vedanta tied for second with John Rahm, and although he finished fourth in Puerto Vallarta, this finish is key to Patia’s future.
Why? Because he’s still not a fully exempted member of the PGA Tour, so every point and dollar earned counts. After finishing second at the Puerto Rico Open in March, Bhatia was awarded what is known as a Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour.
Not sure what this is? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some answers to questions you may have about the unique shape of PGA Tour status.
What is Special Temporary Membership?
In simple terms, the Special Temporary Member has the ability to accept as many sponsor waivers for PGA Tour events as they wish for the rest of the season.
Wait, is there a limit to the number of sponsor exemptions a player can earn?
Yes, but only for non-PGA Tour members. Tour members have unlimited sponsor exemptions. They might look to get one when they’re a little further down the priority list for a big event (like Sahith Theegala last year in Phoenix). Non-members may only play on seven sponsors’ waivers per season.
So, Bhatia is still a non-PGA Tour member?
Well sort of. He’s still technically a member of the Korn Ferry Tour. He won the Korn Ferry Tour season opener in 2022, but didn’t play well the rest of the year and finished 30th on the regular season points list. He subsequently did not make the cut in any of the three Korn Ferry Tour Finals events, which kept him from the PGA Tour card.
How does one become a Special Temporary Member?
The seven sponsor waivers are essentially a test for earning at least the equivalent number of FedEx Cup Points for non-members to the 150th-place finisher in the FedEx Cup last year. This year the figure was 175.228, which Bhatia surpassed thanks to 165 points from the Puerto Rico Open.
What are FedEx Cup Points for non-members?
The FedEx Cup points a player would have earned if they were a member of the PGA Tour. It’s different than when an amateur finishes ahead of someone, but their money goes to the next player on the leaderboard. Bhatia points are allotted, however, quite differently.
Can he qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs?
Unfortunately no. Bhatia is not eligible to participate in the FedEx Cup Playoffs because he is not a member of the PGA Tour.
So what’s the idea behind becoming a private temporary member?
If by the end of the season—which will include the fall portion of the schedule, after the playoffs—the special provisional member has the same or more FedEx Cup points as No. 125 in the standings, he or she will earn their PGA Tour card for the following season. Based on last season, the 125th overall (including LIV golfers) has 385 points. Bhatia rose to 396.3 after last week, but this year’s ranking will include more events.
Is there any way for him to become a member of the PGA Tour *this season*?
Win a PGA Tour event. This is the way.
If he does, his non-member points will automatically convert to regular points and he will be included in the FedEx Cup standings and be able to play in the playoffs.
Are there any other special temporary members this year?
Yes, Ryan Gerard and Nicolai Hojgaard both got the spot after the Valero Texas Open.
Who recently received status as a Special Temporary Member?
The most recent was Tom Kim. Kim became a temporary Special Member after the Open Championship, earning enough points to secure his membership for the season at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, then made his way to the playoffs by winning the Windham Championship.
You might also remember the bizarre predicament that Will Zlatoris faced in the previous season. Due to the pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 Korn Ferry Tour seasons were combined and the 2020-21 PGA Tour season included six majors. Zalatoris – the Korn Ferry Tour points leader at the time – had a top 10 finish at the US Open at Winged Foot and then continued to play well, earning temporary special status by November for the huge season.
He then went on to finish runner-up at the Masters and score eight top-ten finishes in total this season, raking in nearly $3.5 million. But his season ended at the Windham Championships as he still did not qualify for the playoffs, despite making his way to No. 29 in the world. He easily earned full status for 2021-22.