Akshay Bhatia's bid at the Rocket Classic on the PGA Tour ended in disappointment on Friday at Detroit Golf Club, as a triple bogey early in his second round proved too costly to recover from. Bhatia, who had carded a solid 68 in the first round, slipped to a 1-over 71 on day two, finishing the tournament at 1-under for 36 holes — two strokes shy of the 3-under cut line.

Indian Players Exit Early

Bhatia was not alone among Indian-origin players to exit the tournament. Indo-Canadian Sudarshan Yellamaraju also missed the cut, carding rounds of 69-69 to finish at 2-under, one stroke short of the mark. Sahith Theegala did not participate this week. Bhatia, ranked No. 12 in the FedExCup standings, will need to regroup ahead of the playoff push.

Cameron Young Flirts With History

Cameron Young provided the weekend's most electrifying storyline, birdieing seven of his first eight holes in the second round and briefly entertaining thoughts of rewriting PGA Tour history. 'I was thinking 55,' he said, acknowledging the audacity of the moment. Young ultimately closed with a bogey-free 61 — matching the Detroit Golf Club course record — to reach 10-under for the tournament.

Young, the No. 3-ranked player in the world with three wins this season, had previously shot a 59 at the 2024 Travelers Championship. He fell short of joining Jim Furyk, whose record 58 has stood for a decade, lamenting missed birdie opportunities on the back nine.

Leaderboard at the Halfway Mark

Young shared the top of the leaderboard at 10-under with Patrick Cantlay (66) and Patrick Fishburn (66). Rickie Fowler (68) and Matt Wallace (64) were two strokes back at 8-under. Fowler had briefly surged to the lead at 11-under before three bogeys on the back nine — including a three-putt from 24 feet at the 11th — dragged him back.

First-round leader Peter Malnati, who had fired a 61 on Thursday, followed up with a 71 to sit one stroke off the pace, alongside Xander Schauffele (66). Hideki Matsuyama (68) extended the PGA Tour's longest active cuts streak to 30, reaching 5-under alongside Tony Finau (67), who is chasing a top-70 FedExCup finish ahead of next week's Wyndham Championship.

Notable Exits and a Hole-in-One

Several high-profile names also missed the cut at 3-under. US Open champion Wyndham Clark carded a 74 to finish 5-over. Chris Gotterup, a three-time winner this year and ranked No. 7 in the world, ended at 1-over, snapping a streak of making the cut in 14 consecutive starts.

On a lighter note, Matt Kuchar recorded the seventh hole-in-one of his career, holing out with a 9-iron on the 156-yard, par-3 5th hole. Kuchar invited a young spectator inside the ropes to retrieve the ball, which he signed with a black marker.