Indian-American golfer Akshay Bhatia moved into joint lead at THE PLAYERS Championship with a 6-under 66 and reached 10-under 134 here.
He shared the lead with Australian Min Woo Lee (67-66).
The two-time PGA Tour winner, Bhatia, started from the 10th and had four birdies. On his second nine, he dropped shots on the first and the seventh, but also birdied four times.
Min Woo also started from the tenth and had seven birdies against one bogey on his final hole, the ninth. The duo was tied for the lead at 11-under 133.
One of the best performances of the day came from Justin Thomas (78-62) who made the cut and was T-29.
Sahith Theegala (73-67) was T-29 while Aaron Rai (68-74) was T-49.
Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott, Ludvig Aberg and Justin Rose were among those who missed the cut in a tournament where the weather has been rough with 25 mph winds. JJ Spaun had a 68 and was one shot behind the two leaders Bhatia and Min Woo Lee.
Rory McIlroy was at the top of the leaderboard during his morning round that featured six birdies in 11 holes. This momentum though disappeared later. He had a pair of bogeys over the closing stretch, the last one on the par-5 ninth, for a 68 to finish two shots back.
Collin Morikawa, the runner-up last week at Bay Hill who chipped in twice among his nine birdies in a round of 65, also was shots behind with Alex Smalley, who birdied two of his last three holes for a 67.
Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler had to settle for a 70 and was six shots behind, still very much in the mix considering he rallied from five behind on the final day last year.
Bhatia said, “I honestly felt the same (as a day earlier), but today, I had a much more intense focus. It takes so much to win a tournament like THE PLAYERS, and I just have to carry this mentality into the weekend.”
Xander Schauffele made it on the number, extending his cut streak to 59 on the PGA Tour, the longest active streak since Tiger Woods (142) from 1998 to 2005.
