Bhatia two behind leader as Theegala holds on to top 10 in disrupted 3rd round

Orlando (US), Mar 8 (PTI) Akshay Bhatia played 3-under par on the third day through the first 16 holes before play was called off, leaving the 24-year-old two strokes behind leader Daniel Berger at the Arnold Palmer Invitational here.

Sahith Theegala dropped down the order on the third day but is still within the top 10. Bhatia had two holes to play, while Berger had three more in the third round when play was suspended.

Theegala fell six places on the leaderboard as he was 1-over par on the third day with two holes left to be played.

Bhatia began the third round with an early bogey on the second hole. He went on to birdie the fifth and sixth before dropping strokes with bogeys on the seventh and eighth. He closed the front nine with a birdie on the ninth.

Once on the back nine Bhatia found some rhythm as he made birdie on the 12th before making consecutive birdies on the 15th and 16th holes before play was suspended. This puts him at 11 under par with two holes left to play in his third round.

Theegala opened the third round with a string of pars before he found his first birdie on the sixth hole followed by a bogey on the seventh and then closed out the front nine with a bogey on the ninth.

On the back nine Theegala struggled as he dropped shots on the 11th, 13th and 14 holes. The birdie on the 12th and an eagle on the 16th were the highlights of the back nine as he rallied strongly. His score now stands at 6-under par.

Berger was even par for the day when play was called off. Berger began his third with an early bogey on the second and a birdie on the fourth hole.

On the back nine he made his second birdie of the day on the 12th hole only to drop the shot with a bogey on the 13th. His total score stands at 13-under par with two holes left to play in the third round.

Colling Morikawa held onto T-3 with a card of 2-under 70 and a total of 9-under par. Ludvig Åberg dropped down to T-7 with a total score of 7-under par. He was even par for the day with two holes left to play.

Sep Straka and Cameroon Young climbed their way through the field to move into T-3 with rounds of 6-under 66 and 5-under 67 respectively.

Scottie Scheffler carded an even par 72 on the third day to drop down five positions on the leaderboard and is now T-20 with a three day total of 3-under par. Rory McIlroy dropped out of the tournament after the second round because of a back injury. PTI Cor AH AH