Akshay Bhatia managed to save par when his drive at the par-5 17th hole found a metal drain cap just large enough to fit in and went on to close with a bogey-free 67 to reach 13-under and hold on to a share of the lead at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

“That was wild,” said the American of his shot at the 17th. Never seen it. Rules official’s never seen it, so it was kind of one in a million chance that ball goes in that small hole in that drain, so it was pretty funny.

“I don’t think it matters,” he answered when asked whether the course setup suited his left-handedness. “It’s a ball-striker’s golf course, a lot of wedges. That’s kind of my strong suit, especially inside I would say 150 yards, so I think that’s why I like this golf course. Yeah, just I don’t think there’s a difference lefty or righty.”

England’s Aaron Rai closed with a bogey-free 65 to join Bhatia in the lead for his first career 36-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA Tour in an individual stroke-play event. He held a share of the 36-hole lead with partner David Lipsky at the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans before finishing T23.

“[My game] feels in a good place,” said Rai. “Played really nicely the last two days, hit it well tee to green, hit a lot of fairways, a lot of chances, and rolled it pretty well, too, on the greens. Yeah, it’s been a real solid first two days to start with.”

Rai is second in the field in strokes gained approach the green, and in the top-10 on Tour this season.

“I think it’s been more of a process over the last few years, there’s nothing in particular that I’ve really tried to change this year. I think building good foundations off previous years and just trying to stay on top of the fundamentals, trying to stay in a pretty good place. And that changes week to week, and I think trying to bring it back and kind of play with what is going on that particular week I feel like we’ve done a better job of managing the full shots, which has certainly helped this season with tee to green.”

Americans Taylor Montgomery (68), Troy Merritt (64) and Cameron Young (66) as well as South African Erik van Rooyen (64) are tied in third place at 11-under.

Related: Gunner Wiebe takes narrow lead into the weekend

Italian Open R2

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