Akshay Bhatia made an impressive start to the Truist Championship, carding a bogey-free 3-under 68 to sit tied-13th after the opening round at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte.

Despite weather interruptions affecting play through the day, the Indian-American stayed composed and produced one of the cleaner rounds in the field.

Starting from the back nine, Bhatia picked up three birdies without dropping a shot. His gains came on the second, 15th and 18th holes as he stayed firmly within touching distance of the leaders.

The 24-year-old’s iron play stood out throughout the round, with Bhatia ranking second in Greens in Regulation after day one.

Sahith Theegala was also under par when play was suspended because of adverse weather conditions. The Indo-American stood tied-30th at 1-under with three holes left to complete his opening round.

Theegala began brightly with a birdie on the third before back-to-back bogeys on the eighth and ninth briefly slowed him down. He responded well on the back nine with birdies on the 10th and 12th before heavy rain forced officials to suspend play.

Indo-Canadian Sudarshan Yellamaraju opened with an even-par 71 to sit tied-33rd after a steady round featuring two birdies and two bogeys.

American Matt McCarty grabbed the clubhouse lead with a sparkling 8-under 63 that included nine birdies and a lone bogey.

McCarty raced out of the blocks with five birdies on his opening nine before finishing strongly with three consecutive birdies late in the round.

South Korea’s Sungjae Im was one shot behind at 7-under through 17 holes when play was halted.

Rory McIlroy returned to action after his Masters triumph and posted a steady 1-under 70. The World No. 2 made 17 consecutive pars before finally birdieing his final hole to move into tied-30th.

Alex Fitzpatrick continued his strong season with a 67 to sit inside the top 10, while his brother Matt Fitzpatrick struggled to a 3-over 74.

Photo – PGAT