Golf: Akshay Bhatia makes the cut on the line in Rocket Classic

Detroit (USA), June 28 (IANS) Three birdies on the back nine helped Akshay Bhatia make the cut on the line at the Rocket Classic on the PGA Tour. The Indian-American star, who is seeking to make the Tour Championship for the second straight year, added 2-under 70 to his first-round 4-under 68 in a low-scoring tournament, where the cut came at 6-under and 86 players made the weekend.

Bhatia dropped a shot on the eighth, but birdies on the 11th, 14th, and 15th saw him stay on for the weekend.

Jake Knapp shot an 11-under 61 on Friday to break a Rocket Classic record that stood for less than a day and became the first on TOUR to break 60 and shoot a 61 or lower in the same season. That still wasn't enough to put him in the top six entering the weekend at the Detroit Golf Club.

Chris Kirk (65), Philip Knowles (64) and Andrew Putnam (66) share the second-round lead at 14 under. Jackson Suber (65) was another shot back. Aldrich Potgieter, who had a 70 after sharing the 18-hole lead with Kevin Roy after both shot a record-setting 62, and Mark Hubbard were another stroke behind the leader.

Knapp was in a large pack of players, including Collin Morikawa (64), Hideki Matsuyama (66), and Roy (71), three shots off the lead going into the third round. The 31-year-old Knapp, who won the Mexico Open last year as a rookie, started the second round 130th in the 156-player field after opening with a 72. He surged into contention with nine birdies and an eagle in a bogey-free round.

Knapp, ranked No. 99 in the world, is the only player on TOUR to shoot 61 or better in two rounds this season. He shot a 59 — one off the tour scoring record of 58 set by Jim Furyk in 2016 — at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches four months ago, when he broke the tournament scoring record before cooling off and tying for sixth. Knapp broke the 18-hole record at Detroit Golf Club that was set Thursday in the first round when Potgieter and Roy both shot a 62.

--IANS

bsk/