Akshay Bhatia needs bizarre ruling after his golf ball disappears down a drain

Akshay Bhatia needs bizarre ruling after his golf ball disappears down a drain

Akshay Bhatia finds himself atop a PGA Tour leaderboard for the second consecutive week. This time, that involved him finding his golf ball at the bottom of a drain.

The young star found himself in a bizarre situation during Friday's second round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic when he hit a tee shot down the left side of the fairway of the par-5 17th hole at Detroit Golf Club—only to discover it had disappeared down a hole. Bhatia then called in a rules official.

"Fairly certain that's a Callaway at the bottom," Bhatia said during PGA Tour Live coverage.

Fortunately for the 22-year-old, the rules official agreed and he got a free drop. Have a look at the weird scene:

Bhatia, who shot an opening 64 on Thursday to take the lead, wound up making par on the hole to keep edge on the field as he looks for a third career PGA Tour victory. Last week he played in the final group of the Travelers Championship before finishing T-5.

Kind of crazy that a golf course would have holes large enough to swallow golf balls like that—especially in the fairway. Anyway, it's a good thing Bhatia was able to identify his ball, or he would have had to treat it like a lost ball.