Akshay Bhatia loses the ball but maintains the lead in the Rocket Mortgage Classic

The second round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit featured an unusual moment when Akshay Bhatia’s ball disappeared into the drain on the 17th hole. Starting on the ninth hole, Bhatia’s drive down the fairway landed in the drain hole on the fairway.

The PGA Tour released a clip of the interaction between Bhatia and the umpire, where Bhatia pointed to the ball. “I’m pretty sure that’s Callaway down there,” Bhatia said in the clip, referring to the type of ball he uses.

Moving the ball meant the golfer did not have to treat it as a lost ball, which would have required him to repeat his previous shot.

“Okay, we don’t have to do that,” the official told Bhatia, to which the 22-year-old golfer joked: “Are you sure?”

Bhatia got a free drop, placing his ball just inside the drain to continue play on the par-5 hole. The young American golfer finished the hole with a par despite the mishap.

Bhatia didn’t let the freak incident slow him down, making five birdies to shoot a 67 to maintain the lead. After scoring 64 points in the first round, Bhatia currently leads the pack with a cumulative score of -13 heading into the final two rounds of the tournament.

If he can maintain his lead, Bhatia has a shot at his third career PGA Tour victory since turning professional in 2019. The Rocket Mortgage Classic has a prize pool of $9,200,000.