Indian-American golfer Akshay Bhatia rises to top 5 at Charles Schwab Challenge

Fort Worth (US), May 24 (PTI) Indian-American golfer Akshay Bhatia charged his way into contention with a second round 4-under 66 to rise to tied fifth in the standings at the Charles Schwab Challenge here.

Bhatia played a bogey-free round with four birdies, two birdies on either side of the Colonial Country Club.

Having started on the front nine, Bhatia picked up his first birdie of the round on the fifth hole and then followed that with another on the sixth. On the back nine, Bhatia gained two more shots on the 12th and 16th holes. His total after two days is seven-under par and is sitting four behind the leaders Ben Griffin (63) and Matt Schmid (63).

Another player with Indian connection, Aaron Rai had a difficult second round as he carded one-over par. Having played a round of even par on the first day, he was one-over for two days and the cut for the tournament fell at even par. Rai missed out by one.

Rai started his round on the back nine with a bogey before he gained back the lost shot on the 11th hole. He dropped another shot on the 14th hole and then made birdie on the 16th hole. The front nine was also a struggle for Rai as he dropped shots on the second and fifth holes and then made birdie on the seventh hole.

First day leader John Pak dropped down to third with a total score of nine under par as Ben Griffin and Matti Schmid continue to have identical scores for both the first and second rounds to share the lead at 11 under par.

Griffin made eight birdies and one bogey for his round of seven under on the second day while Schmid played a bogey-free round with seven birdies for his score.

Griffin won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans a month ago with Andrew Novak. The 27-year-old Schmid is seeking his first TOUR victory.

The leaders are five ahead of Rickie Fowler, who made the turn in 29 before settling for a 64. Fowler has just one victory since 2019, the Rocket Classic two years ago.

Pak, the TOUR rookie who opened with a 63, birdied the par-4 18th for a 68 and was a shot ahead of Chris Gotterup at 8-under after a 65. Ryo Hisatsune, a 22-year-old from Japan, was another stroke back after a 67, tied with Bhatia (66).

Scottie Scheffler, who won the PGA Championship last weekend, shot 71 and was 10 shots off the lead as the world No. 1 tries to become the first player since Dustin Johnson in 2017 to win three consecutive starts.

It was close, but Scheffler made the cut with a shot to spare, which extended his streak to 55, second to Xander Schauffele's 64.

Jordan Spieth birdied the 17th and made the cut on the number at even par. PTI Corr PDS PDS PDS