Bhatia, Vick share Junior Players lead with one round to go

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 1, 2018) – Akshay Bhatia maintained a share of the lead after the second round of the Junior Players Championship, but the only difference is who he shares it with. Bhatia followed an opening 4-under 68 at TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course with a 2-under 70 on Saturday. He and Travis Vick both stand at 6 under, and will share a one-shot lead entering the final round.

For Bhatia, of Wake Forest, N.C., the comfort level being at the top of a leaderboard is high. He has won three major junior golf events in 2018, including the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley Golf Club followed by a second win at the Polo Golf Junior Classic and most recently a win at the Boys Junior PGA Championship.

Bhatia’s second round started strong with birdies on Nos. 2 through 4 and finished with an up-and-down back nine for a 2-under-par 70 in the second round. Bhatia again struggled at the difficult 18th. He double-bogeyed the hole on Friday, and had a bogey on Saturday.

Vick, of Houston, Texas, is looking for his first AJGA win after finishing in the top-20 at four national junior golf events in 2018. He carded seven birdies during the second round, including a bogey free back nine which included four of those birdies. He finished the second round with a 4-under-par 68 and a share of the lead. The 2019 graduate has given a verbal commitment to play college golf at the University of Texas.

Alexander Vogelsong and William Moll are tied for third at 5 under. First-round co-leader Bo Jin dropped from an opening 68 to a second-round 73.