The future of lefty professional golf??

Have we seen the future of lefty professional golf?

Recently we saw Akshay Bhatia finish runner-up in two consecutive events.  Only a three-putt on his last hole kept him from a playoff at the Rocket Mortgage Classic admitting that some nerves affected him.  Bhatia has steadily improved his game to where he is a force to contend for a title on a frequent basis.  He first showed up on the national golfing scene when he was the runner-up in the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur losing to Michael Thorbjornsen.  Thorbjornsen by the way just finished in a tie for second this weekend at the John Deere Classic in his first event as a professional.  Thorbjornsen got his PGA Tour card by leading the PGA Tour University points list this past year.

But there was another lefty on the scene at the Rocket Mortgage Classis.  That would be 15 year-old Miles Russell.  Russell is the youngest player to make a cut on the Korn Ferry tour doing so back in April.  The high school freshman finished in 20th place! Russell did not make the cut at the Rocket Mortgage but still managed to finish even par.  It was his first PGA Tour start.  What were you doing as a freshman? 

We can expect to see lots more of these two players.  But they are not the only lefties to keep an eye on.  There seems to be more and more lefties appearing on the college golfing scene when I watch on TV.  One that comes to mind is David Ford from North Carolina.

On the ladies side, it would be great to see Erica Shepherd advance her career.  She is now playing on the Epson Tour trying to earn her way onto the LPGA Tour.  The 2024 rookie appears to be getting her feet under her.  After starting her career with seven missed cuts, Shepherd has now made three cuts of the last four.  She even finished 21st in the Otter Creek Championship held in her home state.  She showed she has the potential to win as she is the 2017 USGA Girls Junior champion.  She is a nice young lady as I met her at an Indiana Golf Hall of Fame dinner a year ago.  Also, being from Indiana I have to root for her to join the other Indiana golfers who have gone on to success on the professional tours.

Good luck to all the lefties!  We have come a long way in the last 50 years!