Akshay Bhatia lies second, slow start for Atwal

Atwal is also simultaneously getting ready to have a go at the Champions Tour, as he turns 50 later this month.The winner in Puerto Rico gets a two-year exemption on the PGA TOUR, along with a spot in the PGA Championship.The Puerto Rico Open is held opposite the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where every PGA TOUR member from the top 50 in the world ranking is playing.Bhatia, who won last year on Korn Ferry, has had a good start to the 2023 season with two Top-10 finishes and a win this week would immediately catapult him into the top Tour.

Akshay Bhatia, who scored his breakthrough win on the Korn Ferry Tour last year, showed signs that he is ready to get a shot at the main PGA Tour. The 21-year-old Bhatia, who is of Indian origin but born in the US, opened the Puerto Rico Open with a round of 6-under 66, but was still three shots shy of Carson Young, who made three eagles on his way to a 9-under 63.

Arjun Atwal, the only Indian to have won on the PGA Tour and looking to go better than the three missed cuts earlier this year, had another rough opening with a round of 5-over 77 leaving him with a lot of work to do to make the cut. Atwal is also simultaneously getting ready to have a go at the Champions Tour, as he turns 50 later this month.

The winner in Puerto Rico gets a two-year exemption on the PGA TOUR, along with a spot in the PGA Championship.

The Puerto Rico Open is held opposite the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where every PGA TOUR member from the top 50 in the world ranking is playing.

Bhatia, who won last year on Korn Ferry, has had a good start to the 2023 season with two Top-10 finishes and a win this week would immediately catapult him into the top Tour. The 28-year-old Young has made only three cuts in 12 starts, most recently last week in The Honda Classic. He shared the 18-hole lead at PGA National and finished in a tie for 29th. Now he leads by three.

He had two eagles on the front nine and then a third eagle on the par-5 15th for a fine 9-under 63.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)