OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Akshay Bhatia recorded his first hole-in-one on the PGA Tour during the third round of the BMW Championship on Saturday at Caves Valley Golf Club.

Bhatia’s ace at the 227-yard 17th hole helped him climb to even par for the tournament and polish off a 4-under-par 66, the low round of the day when he signed his scorecard just after 2 p.m. local time.

Bhatia was out of the running to win the tournament, but the ace could have downstream effects for the rest of his season. Bhatia entered the week at No. 29 in the FedEx Cup standings. Only the top 30 advance to next week’s Tour Championship — meaning that hole-in-one might just be the shot that pushes him over the line.

Bhatia, 23, said it was the sixth hole-in-one of his life, but none were this consequential.

He was aw

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