Bhatia, Theegala Climb Into Top-3 As Berger Holds Lead

(MENAFN- IANS) Orlando (USA), March 7 (IANS) Akshay Bhatia produced one of the best rounds of the day to surge into second place after the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Bhatia fired a superb 6-under 66, the lowest score of the round, but still trails leader Daniel Berger by five strokes.

Berger, who had opened the tournament with a brilliant 9-under 63, followed it up with a 4-under 68 to remain firmly on top of the leaderboard at 13-under par heading into the weekend.

Meanwhile, Sahith Theegala also made a strong push up the standings with a bogey-free 5-under 67, moving into a tie for third place at 7-under par. He shares that position with Ludvig Åberg and Collin Morikawa, both of whom returned rounds of 1-under 71.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler carded a 1-under 71, climbing three spots to T-15 with an overall score of 3-under par. Rory McIlroy made a notable move as well, shooting 4-under 68 to jump 24 places into the top 10, sitting T-9 at 4-under after two rounds.

Bhatia's impressive round began with a birdie at the opening hole. He added further gains at the fifth, sixth, and eighth holes before suffering his lone bogey of the day at the ninth. The 22-year-old regained momentum on the back nine, collecting birdies at the 12th, 13th, and 16th holes to close with 66 and reach 8-under par, positioning himself as a strong contender heading into the weekend.

Theegala also delivered a steady performance. Starting on the front nine, he recorded birdies at the third, fourth, and sixth holes before adding two more at the 10th and 16th. His clean round of 67 lifted him to 7-under par.

Berger maintained control of the tournament with another solid showing. The 32-year-old American opened his round with a birdie and added another at the sixth before dropping his first shot of the tournament at the seventh. He recovered well on the back nine, picking up three more birdies at the 10th, 13th, and 16th holes to retain a five-shot lead over the chasing pack.

With two rounds remaining, Berger remains in a commanding position, while Bhatia, Theegala, and others continue their pursuit of the title.

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