Akshay Bhatia won Barracuda Championship in July 2023 for his maiden PGA TOUR title
22-year-old Indian-origin golfer and former World No.1 Junior, Akshay Bhatia, surged into a five-shot lead at 11-under par halfway through the US$9.2mn Valero Texas Open after carding his career best round of 63 followed by a 70.
Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy is at 5-under while the American trio of Brendan Todd, Russell Henley and Denny McCarthy are tied for second at 6-under par.
This season, Bhatia has played in 9 events with five made cuts and his best-finish being tied-11th at the Texas Children’s Houston Open last week.
Having reached the world no 1 Junior ranking while attending Wake Forest High School, Bhatia opted to forgo college to turn professional in 2019, a decision that after an initial struggle has proven fruitful with one win each on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR.
Bhatia, who started Day two with a three-shot lead, began with a promising 15-foot birdie putt, but soon lost his lead with two bogeys. Thereafter he made three birdies in challenging wind conditions which saw other competitors faltering and expanded his lead to 5.
We will be following Bhatia’s progress closely to see if he can keep his composure on the weekend for his 2nd PGA Tour win.
Photo – PGA TOUR