Akshay Bhatia has joined Ryo Hisatsune on the high of the PGA Tour Pebble Seaside Professional-Am leaderboard on 15-under par, with a resurgent Rickie Fowler and Australian Min Woo Lee amongst these scorching on their heels.
California-born Bhatia scored 64, with back-to-back bogey-free rounds to hitch in a single day chief Hisatsune on the pinnacle of the $US 20 million ($A28 million) occasion
It comes off the again of 24-year-old Bhatia’s joint-third-placed end ultimately week’s Phoenix Open.
“Simply constructing off final week. Performed very nice final week, simply beginning to type of catch my groove,” stated Bhatia, who has two earlier PGA Tour wins to his identify.
Bhatia loved six birdies and an eagle on the par-five 14th, the place he chipped in from 47 ft out within the tough.
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“I really feel like my golf swing’s in a very nice spot, shot choices are in a very nice spot and beginning to see some putts fall,” he stated.
In the meantime Japan’s Hisatsune constructed on his career-best 10-under opening spherical with a tremendous five-under par 67.
He bogeyed each the 18th and 1st as he made the flip at Spyglass Hill — considered one of two in use for the occasion’s first two days — however regained his composure and eagled the par-five seventh and birdied the ninth for a powerful end.
The 23-year-old from Okayama, who gained the 2023 Open de France on the DP World Tour, has been stepping it up in pursuit of a primary US PGA Tour title.
After a tie for second behind runaway winner Justin Rose at Torrey Pines, Hisatsune held the midway lead on the Phoenix Open final week, earlier than ending tenth.
Rickie Fowler additionally carded 64 to finish the day in joint third place, on 14-under par, with Sam Burns.
Australian Lee is subsequent, tied fifth with American Jacob Bridgeman and Austrian Sepp Straka after an outstanding second-round 65 that featured seven birdies and an eagle.
Jason Day, the one different Austalian within the area, is at six below after a 68.
Fowler bogeyed the 14th however produced an in any other case flawless spherical that includes 9 birdies.
Chasing his first PGA Tour win since 2023, 37-year-old Fowler is on the mend after battling by way of damage in a 2025 season that noticed him briefly drop outdoors the world top-100.
“My shoulder was unhealthy all final 12 months so I used to be simply attempting to handle and get by way of as finest that I might,” he stated.
“My physique and shoulder really feel lots higher than it did final 12 months,” added Fowler. Elsewhere, Harris English carded the day’s finest spherical with a bogey-free 63, that includes 9 birdies, to bounce again from a disappointing opening-round 73 and attain eight-under on the occasion’s midway mark.
World No.1 Scottie Scheffler crept again up the leaderboard with a second spherical of 66, placing him six-under for the event after an erratic opening spherical of 72.
Scheffler once more appeared wobbly on his first few holes, together with a bogey on the thirteenth, however after a run of birdies he chipped in from 65 yards for an eagle on the seventh.
“I felt like I performed higher once more than my rating at the moment, which is fairly irritating, however was capable of get some stuff happening the again 9,” he stated.
“So at the very least a decent rating at the moment versus yesterday, (which) wasn’t very respectable.” Defending champion Rory McIlroy carded an uneven 67 that includes an eagle, 5 birdies and two bogeys on the Pebble Seaside Golf Hyperlinks course, ending with a birdie to take a seat on nine-under par in a tie for seventeenth place.