McConnell Golf Scholars make their mark at golf's highest levels
Raleigh-area native Akshay Bhatia earned a McConnell Golf Scholarship when he was 15 years old.
“This is one of the most exciting and rewarding programs in which we’ve been involved,” McConnell Golf Founder John McConnell said. “Our company is committed to amateur and junior golf. Some of the best junior golfers do not have access to practice facilities and good courses. Our goal is to provide this access and supervision in hopes of helping these talented young players move to the next level of play, and possibly allow them to elevate to the point where golf can become a means of helping them receive financial assistance for higher education and even play beyond the collegiate level.”
Bhatia, who was born in California, moved to Wake Forest with his family when he was an infant. He fell in love with golf at a public course just down the street from his house.
But it was the McConnell Golf Scholarship that Bhatia credits with propelling him to one of the best amateur careers in recent memory. He dominated numerous junior events, finishing runner-up in the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur and competing on the winning U.S. Walker Cup team in 2019. Homeschooled, he elected not to play high school golf, and instead of college, he chose to chase his dream and turn professional at age 17.
“I was very fortunate to get that scholarship,” Bhatia said during the 2023 Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club. “(John McConnell) offers junior golfers the ability to go play at some country clubs, which is great, and he owns so many now. You could go wherever, or you just call and you could go play. I was very fortunate to get that.”
“I grew up five minutes from a golf course from my parent’s house. But to get to that next level, I was able to start playing with a couple PGA TOUR players, a couple Korn Ferry players as a 15, 16-year-old. So, it was definitely nice,” Bhatia said. “And now I’m an honorary member at Wakefield Plantation, which is very special because they’ve treated me like family and to have that when I come back and not worry about where am I going to practice or where I’m going to play is a nice feeling.”
Bhatia’s first breakthrough came in January 2022, just before his 20th birthday. During his first official and sixth overall start on the Korn Ferry Tour, the lanky left-hander eased away down the stretch to win the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic by three shots. Along with the $135,000 winner’s check, Bhatia became just the third teenage winner on the tour, along with future PGA TOUR stars Jason Day and Sungjae Im.
Bhatia did not qualify for the PGA TOUR for 2023 but made it into the Puerto Rico Open in March and finished second for a $414,200 payday. That earned him special temporary membership status on the TOUR. After a ninth-place finish at the Barbasol Championship, Bhatia won his first PGA TOUR event in July at the Barracuda Championship in Truckee, California, played opposite of the Open Championship.
The 21-year-old ended up with four top-10 finishes on the PGA TOUR this season, including three top-4s, earning just shy of $2 million. “I’ve had a lot of ups, a lot of downs,” said Bhatia, who is now a full-time member of the PGA TOUR for 2024. “But I knew I was going to get here. It was just a matter of time.”
Grayson Murray received a McConnell Golf Scholarship in 2008 and two years later, when he was 16 years old, became the second youngest player to make the cut in a Web.com Tour event when he played the weekend at the REX Hospital Open, at Wakefield Plantation. By 2016, the former Leesville Road High School golfer had earned his full-time PGA TOUR card by finishing among the top 25 money winners on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour.
“I received the McConnell Golf Scholarship in the eighth grade, and it was perfect timing. It elevated my game so much just getting to go out to Raleigh Country Club every afternoon after school,” said Murray. “Learning how to play that course. Putting in the hours out there was huge. I don’t think I would have been the player I am without that scholarship. Five years at Raleigh Country Club was huge.
That’s a place where you can really improve your game. It was good preparation for college and then the pros for sure.”
“In all honesty, I don’t think Grayson could have made the type of progress he’s made in such a short period of time without the McConnell Golf Scholarship,” his father, Eric Murray, said. “It has provided him with a fantastic environment for him to practice in and to play.”
“I can’t tell you how much it has meant to Grayson,” says Murray. “We couldn’t have continued to put Grayson in the national tournaments he needs to play to keep his game moving forward, and also belong to a club of that caliber. It’s been really, really nice to be able to go over a world-class facility like Raleigh Country Club and practice. It’s been a dream, really.”
Murray recorded seven top-25 PGA TOUR finishes in 2017 and ’18, along with his first PGA TOUR win at the 2017 Barbasol Championship, earning more than $1 million each season. While Murray has experienced some lows during the past few years, the past season appears to have brought him some light at the end of the tunnel. In May, the 29-year-old won the Korn Ferry Tour’s AdventHealth Championship and he also had a pair of top-10 PGA TOUR finishes.
“I probably haven’t reached my prime yet,” Murray told the Golf Channel. “I can get on a good solid 10-year run and that’s what I plan on doing. I’m in such a good spot right now where I don’t want to change anything I’m doing.”
One of Murray’s high school golf teammates was Raleigh native Carter Jenkins, a 2010 McConnell Golf Scholarship recipient. In 2011, Jenkins earned a spot in the REX Hospital Open after winning a local qualifier to earn a spot in the field as an amateur. He made more waves in the fall of 2012 by shooting a course-record 59 at Wildwood Green.
Jenkins had outstanding success in amateur golf, winning eight Carolinas Golf Association titles, including the 2015 North Carolina Amateur and three consecutive Carolinas Amateurs. He became the first player in 92 years to win the Carolinas Amateur for three straight years. He played one and a half seasons for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill golf program after beginning his collegiate career at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. He won two events for the Spartans and earned All-Southern Conference and SoCon Rookie of the Year honors.
At UNC, Jenkins earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors in 2016 after leading the Tar Heels in stroke average (72.09), rounds under par (14 of 32), rounds in the 60s (seven) and percentage of rounds counted (30 of 32, .938). In 2016, Jenkins decided to forego his final year of collegiate eligibility and turn professional, making his pro debut on the Mackenzie Tour in British Columbia, Canada.
After going back and forth between the PGA Canada and Korn Ferry Tours, Jenkins finished T39 at the Final Stage of Q-School last fall, earning his first full campaign on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023. A tie for 14th at the season-opening The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay set him on the right path, and he’s gone on to add three more top-20 finishes.
His professional golf experience has given Jenkins, who lives with the neurological disorder epilepsy, a more positive outlook on the game—and life. “These past couple of years have been good for me in terms of the way I’ve approached the game from an emotional and mental perspective to bring myself a lot of peace and calm,” he said. “Golf is a game of life, and just like in life, nothing is going to be perfect. Trying to be perfect on the golf course is only going to make yourself frustrated. You’re just going to get in your own way. I’m just trying to play with a calm over me, accept variables and adversity, and move forward.”
All three professionals credit the McConnell Golf Scholarship Program for allowing them to reach their full potential.
“I am very proud of this program that started in 2008 and seeing how well all the juniors have developed and matured both on and off the golf course,” said McConnell Golf Vice President of Golf Operations Brian Kittler. “These players were all talented and accomplished golfers when they entered the program, but having access to our courses, instruction and practice facilities, they were able to take their game to the next level.”