Akshay Bhatia and Aaron Rai Lead at Rocket Mortgage Classic
Detroit [US], June 29: Akshay Bhatia and Aaron Rai are tied for the lead at the halfway stage of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, both at 13-under. Bhatia, an Indian-American golfer, scored a 5-under 67, while England’s Rai shot a 65. Bhatia’s round included a par on the Par-5 17th after a unique incident where his ball went into a fairway drain. He got a free drop and made par, marking his second bogey-free round at the Detroit Golf Club.
Rai, who also has Indian connections, made seven birdies, including a 21-foot birdie putt on the 18th. Other notable players include Taylor Montgomery, Troy Merritt, Erik van Rooyen, and Cameron Young, who are two strokes behind the co-leaders.
Bhatia, 22, turned pro at 17 and earned his second PGA TOUR victory at the Valero Texas Open in April. Last week, he tied for fifth at the Travelers Championship. Reflecting on the drain incident, Bhatia said, “Oh, yeah, that was wild. No, never seen it. Rules official’s never seen it, so it was kind of a one-in-a-million chance that the ball goes in that small hole in that drain, so it was pretty funny. Oh, no, that was hilarious. It’s going to be pretty viral, I think. What are the odds of that happening?”
Rai commented on his game, saying, “It feels in a good place. Played nicely the last two days, hit it well tee to green, hit a lot of fairways, a lot of chances, and rolled it pretty well, too, on the greens. Yeah, it’s been a real solid first two days to start with.”
Rai, Montgomery, and Young are each seeking their first PGA TOUR victory. Merritt and van Rooyen have each won twice. Bhatia started the second round on the par-4 10th and hit an approach from 112 yards to 3 feet for birdie. He made a 31-foot putt on the par-3 15th for his second of five birdies Friday.
Tom Kim, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 16, missed the cut by a stroke at 3 under. Only Bhatia and Rai are bogey-free for 36 holes. This is Rai’s first career 36-hole lead or co-lead on TOUR in an individual stroke-play event. He is searching for his first career win on TOUR, with T3 at the 2023 RBC Canadian Open as his best finish.
