Atwal misses cut, Bhatia 11th and Young keeps lead in Puerto Rico

Rio de Grande (Puerto Rico), Mar 4 (PTI) India’s Arjun Atwal shot a decent one-under 71 in the second round but still missed the cut at the Puerto Rico Open here.

Atwal’s first round 77 proved costly as he finished four-over and exited early once again.

Carson Young carded a five-under 67 and built a four-shot lead going into the weekend.

Young, a 28-year-old rookie on the PGA TOUR, did not have the kind of a round he had on the first day with three eagles, but he did shoot 67 to move to 14-under 130 and put himself in great position for his first PGA TOUR win.

Indian-American Akshay Bhatia, who had a six-under on first day, added one-under 71 and was seven-under and tied 11th, down from overnight tied second place.

While rookie Young led the field, another rookie, Nico Echavarria of Colombia had a 67 and was four shots back along with Paul Haley II (66).

Ryan Gerard had a 67 and was six shots behind in a tie for sixth.

Gerard earned the last spot in the field at The Honda Classic last week in a Monday qualifier, and then finished fourth to earn a spot in Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Rico Open is held opposite the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. The winner gets them into THE PLAYERS Championship, the PGA Championship and a two-year PGA TOUR exemption.