How Did Rai Rank 17th While Bhatia Missed the Cut at PGA?

Charlotte (USA) May 17 (NationPress) Although several prominent players missed the cut, others clung to their positions at the 2025 PGA Championships held at Quail Hollow. Leading after two rounds is Jhonattan Vegas, marking his first time in front at a Major. The second day was filled with drama as Vegas recorded a 1-under 70. He was at 10-under par until he faltered with a missed 3-foot putt on 18, resulting in a double bogey for an even-par 70, giving him a two-shot advantage.

Vegas stands at 8-under 134, two shots ahead of Matthieu Pavon from France (65), former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick (68), and South Korea's Si Woo Kim, who achieved a hole-in-one on the longest par 3 at Quail Hollow, finishing with a remarkable 64. Kim hit a 5-wood on the 252-yard sixth hole, setting the record for the longest hole-in-one in Major Championship history.

Close behind is Scottie Scheffler (69-68) tied for fifth. Meanwhile, Akshay Bhatia (70-74) was in the Top-20 with five holes remaining but ended up missing the cut by one after dropping five shots in the final five holes.

Among players with Indian ties, Indo-British Aaron Rai, who was T-4 after his first round of 68, shot a 2-over 73 and fell to T-17, losing 13 spots but still qualifying for the weekend.

Bhatia appeared set to advance, being 2-under through 13 holes for the round and 3-under overall. However, he faced calamity with a double bogey on the Par-4 14th, another double on the Par-3 16th, and a bogey on the 18th—losing five shots in just five holes.

Masters champion Rory McIlroy, grappling with his tee shot, managed to make the cut on the line, joined by defending champion Xander Schauffele, who also made the cut, extending his streak to 64, the longest on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods' record of 142 tournaments set two decades ago.

Among the top 10 after 36 holes, only two major winners—Matt Fitzpatrick (68-68) in T-2 and Scheffler (69-68) in Tied-fifth—stand out.

Notable names failing to make the cut, which fell at 1-over 143, include Jordan Spieth, who needed a victory this week for a Career Slam; Hideki Matsuyama, Ludvig Aberg, Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed, Patrick Cantlay, Jason Day, Brooks Koepka, and Justin Rose.

World No. 1 Scheffler took time to adjust to his swing, yet he managed two birdies on the front nine, only dropping one shot on the back nine, and finishing with two consecutive birdies for a total of 68. This placed Scheffler at 5-under 137 alongside Max Homa, who shot a remarkable 64.

Ten players are tied at 4-under 138, including three individuals who were uncertain about their participation just a week ago.

They include Michael Thorbjornsen (70), the former No. 1 in the PGA TOUR University rankings, who entered the tournament after Vijay Singh withdrew; Ryan Fox (71), who clinched his first PGA TOUR title at the ONEFlight Myrtle Beach Classic last week, qualifying him for the PGA Championship; and Alex Smalley (71), who joined the field on Wednesday due to another withdrawal, that of Sahith Theegala owing to a neck strain.