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Akshay Bhatia heads into the weekend for the second straight tournament with a great chance to win. After contending last week at the Travelers Championship, the wiry left hander is at again at the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic. Backing up his opening 8-under 64 with a 67 on Friday, Bhatia stands at 13 under alongside Englishman Aaron Rai, who utilized two late birdies to join Bhatia at the top.

"For me, I feel like when you know you're playing well, then you feel like you can hit all the golf shots that you need to hit to make a good golf score," Bhatia said. "I think difference in situations, maybe it's a little harder, but out here you can easily make five, six, seven birdies."

After his Round 1 performance that included six birdies and an eagle, Bhatia added five more circles to his scorecard in Round 2 while remaining bogey-free. Bhatia has blistered Detroit Golf Club thanks to his ball striking, and it will need to continue into the weekend given the number of names that lurk and plenty of birdies still to be had.

Not only will he have Rai to contend with but also a pair of Rookies of the Year in Cameron Young and Eric Cole. Young parlayed his scorching weekend in Cromwell, Connecticut, that included a 59 at TPC River Highlands, into more birdie making this week while Cole has rediscovered form that had abandoned him for much of the year.

The same can be said for 2021 tournament champion Cam Davis, who sits a few back at 10 under. Without much to speak of this season, the talented Australian seeks his second PGA Tour title at the site of his first. Erik van Rooyen, Joel Dahmen, Jake Knapp and Min Woo Lee also find themselves in the mix heading into the weekend in the Motor City.

The leaders

T1. Akshay Bhatia, Aaron Rai (-13)

Bhatia actually hit the ball better on Friday than Thursday, but the score was not indicative of this. Not holing as many putts and failing to capitalize on three of the four par 5s, Bhatia left some out there but remains in a fantastic spot to pick up his third PGA Tour victory. 

No. 3 nearly came last weekend as Bhatia was featured alongside world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler for both the third and fourth rounds of the Travelers Championship. While he ultimately settled for a T5 finish, Bhatia got a front row seat to the current standard in professional golf.

"It's cool to see what it's like," Bhatia said of playing with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler last weekend. "He's obviously playing on a different level than many of us out here. Yeah, I mean, he just kind of plots around and doesn't make many mistakes and doesn't let anything get to him. That's why he's the No. 1 player in the world; he holds himself to that standard." 

Other contenders

T3. Taylor Montgomery, Troy Merritt, Erik van Rooyen, Cameron Young (-11)
T7. Eric Cole, Cam Davis, Joel Dahmen (-10)
T10. Jake Knapp, Neal Shipley, Wesley Bryan, Sam Stevens, Joe Highsmith (-9)

It's a bit of an odd bunch, some without much form but others with plenty, but Davis' inclusion in the chasing pack through two rounds is notable. A winner here a few years ago, the smooth-swinging Australian has fallen on hard times in regard to his game. Without a top-35 finish since the Masters in early April, Davis has channeled the good vibes of 2021 and the subsequent top-20 finishes at Detroit GC into more of the same this week.

"I do practice rounds, I still go around and think, 'Oh, this is where I hit a great shot and this is where I won it and this is where I holed something,'" Davis said. "Once the tournament starts, it's so different, yeah, you don't really start thinking about that unless someone points it out to you. No, I've done my appreciation back early in the week and it's get back to business and, yeah, try and enjoy the journey again."

Bhatia's disappearing act

One of the most bizarre instances of a lost ball on the PGA Tour occurred Friday morning when Bhatia's tee shot on the par-5 17th split the fairway. Tumbling down the short grass, Bhatia's golf ball disappeared as it took a trip down a drain in the middle of the fairway. Able to identify his Callaway through the drainage holes, Bhatia was awarded free relief and went about his business like nothing had happened.

"Oh, yeah, that was wild," Bhatia said. "No, 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."

Miles Russell misses the cut

The 15-year-old nearly punched his name onto the weekend tee sheet but came up just short. After opening with a 74, Russell was fired out of a cannon Friday morning carding four birdies in his first 11 holes to get to 2 under for the tournament. Needing to play his final seven holes in 2 under, Russell instead tacked on two bogeys to finish his tournament at a very respectable even par.

2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic update odds, picks

  • Akshay Bhatia: 5/2
  • Aaron Rai: 4-1
  • Cameron Young: 9/2
  • Erik van Rooyen: 12-1
  • Cam Davis: 18-1
  • Taylor Montgomery: 22-1
  • Troy Merritt: 22-1
  • Eric Cole: 28-1

I love the way Bhatia looks, and while just north of 2-1 is steep to pay at this point, it may be the correct play at this juncture. In lieu of Bhatia, Knapp could be a factor from 45-1 after a stellar second round that saw him gain just about +4.50 strokes on approach. If there is someone who could go nuclear on Moving Day and fire something in the low 60s to get back into the tournament, Davis Thompson is my favorite outsider selection from six back at 100-1.

Rick Gehman and Patrick McDonald recap the second round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic with scorecards, storylines and betting favorites. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.