Akshay Bhatia surged into second place after the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, firing a superb 6-under 66 — the lowest score of the day — at Bay Hill.
Bhatia moved to 8-under for the tournament but still trails leader Daniel Berger by five shots heading into the weekend. Berger followed his opening 63 with a 4-under 68 to reach 13-under and maintain a comfortable lead at the top.
Another Indian-American, Sahith Theegala, also climbed the leaderboard with a bogey-free 5-under 67 to sit tied third at 7-under alongside Ludvig Åberg and Collin Morikawa.
Bhatia’s round began with an early birdie and gathered momentum through the front nine with further gains at the fifth, sixth and eighth. A lone bogey at the ninth briefly halted his progress, but he responded with birdies on the 12th, 13th and 16th to complete one of the standout rounds of the day.
Theegala produced a steady performance, collecting birdies on the third, fourth and sixth before adding two more on the back nine to sign for a clean card.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler carded a 1-under 71 to climb to tied 15th at 3-under, while Rory McIlroy made a notable move with a 4-under 68 to jump into tied ninth at 4-under.
Berger continued his strong run with another composed round, recovering from his first dropped shot of the tournament with three back-nine birdies to retain a clear advantage.
With two rounds remaining, Bhatia and Theegala remain firmly in contention as they chase Berger heading into the weekend at Bay Hill.
Photo – PGAT
