Bhatia, Rai Make Cut As Korea’s Lee Surges Into Contention At Shriners Children’s Open

Bhatia, Rai make cut as Korea’s Lee surges into contention at Shriners Children’s Open (Image Source: IANS)

Sanderson Farms Championship:  Akshay Bhatia, who scored his breakthrough win earlier in 2023, made the cut at the Shriners Children’s Open with a second round of 70 following up on a 68 in the first round. Bhatia, an Indian American, is lying T-48.

Aaron Rai, an Englishman with Indian connections, was lying T-34 with rounds of 71-66.

The top Asian is Korean golf star K.H. Lee who surged into contention at the Shriners Children’s Open on Friday with a superb 7-under 64 to sit three back of second round co-leaders Cameron Champ and Lanto Griffin.

The 32-year-old Lee, who is a two-time PGA TOUR champion, struck an eagle, seven birdies and two bogeys at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas for tied sixth position on 9-under 133. Champ shot a 67 while Griffin returned a 66 to lead on 12-under heading into the weekend of the third FedExCup Fall event.

China’s rookie professional Yuxin Lin enjoyed an impressive 66 for tied 11th place on 8-under while defending champion Tom Kim of Korea carded a 68 to be six off the pace. Another Chinese, Carl Yuan produced an 11-shot improvement with a stellar second round 64 to make the weekend cut on 139, a week after a career-first top-10 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. LPGA Tour star Lexi Thompson, the seventh woman golfer to compete on the PGA TOUR, missed the cut following a 69.

Lee is hoping to become the third successive Korean to win the Shriners Children’s Open after Sungjae Im (2021) and Tom Kim (2022).

After the disappointment of missing the FedExCup Playoffs which is limited to the top-70 players, Lee, who is currently 76th in the rankings, is determined to conclude 2023 on a strong note and give himself a chance of earning exemptions into two Signature events in early 2024 – the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational – by finishing inside the top 60 of the FedExCup Fall rankings. He has three top-10s and six other top-25s so far this season.

Lin, who is a two-time Asia-Pacific Amateur champion, birdied three of his last four holes to move up the leader board and give himself a shot at concluding a successful week in his first regular PGA TOUR start outside of the majors. Defending champion Kim Tim, meanwhile, dropped a double bogey in his round of 68 to leave himself with an uphill battle in his hopes to secure a repeat victory in Vegas.

Champ, chasing a fourth career win, and Griffin, who holds one win previously, led by one stroke from Henrik Norlander who charged into contention with a 64. "Just stick to my game plan. If I hit it somewhere in the middle of what I did on Thursday and today, I think I'll be fine," said Champ.

Eleven-time LPGA Tour winner Lexi Thompson shot a fine 69 but missed the cut by three shots with her 142 total. "I played really well today, came out super early, and bogeyed 17 but made a great save on 18 there and just overall played very steady," said Thompson. “As the day went on, I tried to stay committed to my targets out there and to my swing thoughts and just enjoyed the whole experience."