Akshay Bhatia enters the weekend with a chance to win his second consecutive tournament. After last week's Travelers Championship, the lanky left-hander will play again at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in 2024. Following an eight-under 64 on Friday, Bhatia is at 13 under and tied with Englishman Aaron Rai, who fired two birdies late in the round to move into a tie for the lead with Bhatia.
“For me, when I know I'm playing well, I feel like I can hit all the golf shots I need to hit to get a good golf score,” Bhatia said. “It might be a little bit tougher in some situations, but here I can easily make five, six, seven birdies.”
Following a first-round performance that saw him record six birdies and an eagle, Bhatia added another five circles to his scorecard with no bogeys in round two. Bhatia has dominated the Detroit Golf Club thanks to his ball-striking and will need to keep that momentum going into the weekend with plenty of big names lurking and plenty of birdies still to be had.
He'll be up against not only Rye, but two other Rookies of the Year in Cameron Young and Eric Cole. Young parlayed a torrid weekend in Cromwell, Connecticut, that included a 59 at TPC River Highlands, with even more birdies this week, while Cole has rediscovered the form he's been missing for most of the year.
The same can be said about 2021 tournament winner Cam Davis, who is a few places back at 10 under. Though nothing particularly outstanding this season, the talented Australian is looking to win his second PGA Tour title at the site of his first. Eric Van Rooyen, Joel Dahmen, Jake Knapp and Ming Woo Lee are also in the mix heading into the weekend in the Motor City.
Leader
T1. Akshay Bhatia, Aaron Rai (-13)
Bhatia actually hit the ball better on Friday than he did on Thursday, but his scores didn't reflect that. He didn't make many putts, missing three of the four par 5s and missing some putts, but he still remains in great position to win his third PGA Tour title.
Last weekend, Bhatia played alongside world number one Scottie Scheffler in both the third and fourth rounds of the Travelers Championship, coming close to finishing in third place. Though he ultimately finished tied for fifth, Bhatia got a front-row seat to the current standard of professional golf.
“It was good to see what it's like,” Bhatia said of playing against world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler last weekend. “He's obviously on a different level than a lot of us here. So yeah, I mean, he just strategizes, doesn't make a lot of mistakes, doesn't let anything faze him. That's why he's the No. 1 player in the world. He holds himself to that standard.”
Other candidates
T3. Taylor Montgomery, Troy Merritt, Eric Van Rooyen, Cameron Young (-11)
T7. Eric Cole, Cam Davis, Joel Dahmen (-10)
T10. Jake Knapp, Neil Shipley, Wesley Bryan, Sam Stephens, Joe Highsmith (-9)
It's a bit of an odd field, with some players in bad form and others in good form, but it's notable that Davis is in the chasing pack after two rounds. The Australian, who won here a few years ago, has a smooth swing but is struggling with his game. Davis, who hasn't had a top-35 finish since the Masters in early April, is continuing his strong 2021 vibe and subsequent top-20 finish at the Detroit Golf Club this week.
“I do practice rounds and I still think, 'Oh, I hit a good shot here, I won here, I holed something here,'” Davis said. “Once the tournament starts, it's completely different so I don't really think about it unless someone points it out to me. No, I got my gratitude back at the start of the week, so I'm just going to get back to work and try to enjoy the journey again.”
Bhatia's disappearance
One of the strangest lost-ball cases on the PGA Tour occurred Friday morning when Bhatia's tee shot split the fairway on the par-5 17th hole. His golf ball rolled over the short grass and into a drain in the middle of the fairway before disappearing. Bhatia, whose Callaway ball was found in a hole in the drain, received free relief and continued playing as if nothing had happened.
“Oh yeah, that was crazy,” Bhatia said. “No, I hadn't seen it. The rules official hadn't seen it either, so the odds of the ball going into that little hole in the drain were like one in a million. So it was pretty crazy.”
Myles Russell fails to qualify
The 15-year-old Russell was on the verge of putting his name on the tee sheet for the weekend, but fell just short. After starting with a 74, Russell fired off four birdies in the first 11 holes on Friday morning to finish two under par for the tournament. Needing to play the final seven holes at two under par, Russell instead made two bogeys to finish the tournament at a very respectable even par.
Latest odds and predictions for the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic
Akshay Bhatia: 5/2Aaron Lai: 4-1Cameron Young: 9/2Erik van Rooyen: 12-1Cam Davis: 18-1Taylor Montgomery: 22-1Troy Merritt: 22-1Erik Cole: 28-1
Bhatia is looking good and a little over 2-1 at this point is too high but might be the right bet at this point. Instead of Bhatia, Knapp could come in at 45-1 after a great second round where he gained +4.50 strokes on approach. If anyone can explode on moving day and get back into the tournament with a score in the low 60s, Davis Thompson is my favorite outsider from the back of 6th at 100-1.
Rick Gehman and Patrick McDonald recap the second round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic with scorecards, storylines and betting favorites. Follow and listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.