Golfers Akshay Bhatia and Aaron Rai keep lead at tight Rocket Mortgage Classic

DETROIT – Akshay Bhatia and England’s Aaron Rai shot four-under 68s to remain co-leaders through the third round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic on June 29 in Detroit.

Bhatia and Rai began the round sharing the lead, but the overall leaderboard has tightened. Rai had five birdies and a bogey, while Bhatia navigated his third consecutive round without a bogey.

“Did a pretty good job,” Rai said. “It was tricky. Conditions were a little tougher. A lot of crosswinds. We handled the conditions pretty well overall.

“It’s another good, solid day of golf to draw on going into tomorrow.”

They are both at 17-under 199 going into the final round on June 30.

“It’s pretty cool,” Bhatia said. “I just grinded. I didn’t play that great but I just hung in there, like the last couple days. Should be a fun test tomorrow.”

He won play-offs to capture both his PGA titles, at last July’s Barracuda Championship and April’s Texas Open.

“Hopefully everything is going great tomorrow but if not then I can lean on other things,” Bhatia said. “See how many birdies you can make and just keep plugging along.”

Cameron Young (67), who birdied three of his last five holes, and Australia’s Cam Davis (66), who had birdies on three of his first four holes and completed a bogey-free round, are one shot back at 16 under.

Sam Stevens (66), who birdied the final two holes, and South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen (68), who didn’t have a bogey, are at 15 under.

So, there will be plenty of contenders on Detroit Golf Club’s North Course.

Amateur Luke Clanton (65), Joel Dahmen (68) and South Korea’s Lee Min-woo (66) are tied for seventh at 14 under.

Clanton climbed to a share of second place by the time he finished his third round, before others took advantage of scoring chances in the early evening.

“It’s my first PGA Tour event and to be in contention where I’m at right now is awesome,” Clanton said.

Luke Clanton climbed to a share of second place by the time he finished his third round, before others took advantage of scoring chances in the early evening. PHOTO: AFP

Clanton, a 20-year-old Florida State golfer, had played earlier in June at the US Open, making the cut and tying for 41st place. On June 29, he eagled the par-five 14th hole, just two holes after his only bogey of the round.

Defending champion Rickie Fowler shot 67 and moved to 11 under.

The start of the third round had a significant delay and tee times were revised, with golfers using the first and 10th tees as starting spots.

Will Zalatoris, citing a back injury, withdrew during the third round. He was seven under through the first two rounds but three over through eight holes on June 29 before ending his round. REUTERS, AFP