DETROIT — The lefty seems to have found the right stuff.

Akshay Bhatia, whose game has been trending in the right direction for the past three weeks, picked up Friday where he left off Thursday at Detroit Golf Club, firing another bogey-free round, this time a 5-under 67, to hold on to a share of his lead at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Bhatia was at 13 under, tied with Englishman Aaron Rai, who shot a 65, thanks to two birdies on his last two holes, including a 20-foot putt at the par-4 18th. That duo is two strokes clear of a group of four players who were at 11 under, including Cameron Young (66), Taylor Montgomery (68), Troy Merritt (64), and Erik van Rooyen (64), at the halfway point of the sixth playing of the Rocket.

Three strokes back at 10 under were 2021 Rocket champion Cam Davis (66), Joel Dahmen (64) and Eric Cole (68).

Bhatia finished tied for 22nd at the Memorial, tied for 16th at the U.S. Open and tied for fifth at the Travelers Championship last weekend. He's gunning for a third PGA Tour title, and second this season. He'd also be the first left-hander to win at the Rocket, where only a select few have seriously contended over the years: Ted Potter Jr., who tied for fifth in 2019; Hank Lebioda, who tied for fourth in 2021; and Brian Harman, who tied for ninth a year ago before he went and won the British Open.

"I don't think it matters," Bhatia said after Friday's round, asked if the course sets up better for lefties or righties. "It's a ball-striker's course, a lot of wedges. That's kind of my strong suit, especially inside I would say 150 yards. So I think that's why I like this golf course.

"I don't think there's a difference, lefty or righty."

Four strokes back of Bhatia and Rai was a group of five at 9 under that included newly turned pro Neal Shipley (68) and Joe Highsmith (64), another lefty whose Friday round was highlighted by the ninth hole-in-one in Rocket Mortgage Classic history, and second in as many days, coming at the par-3 fifth. Wesley Bryan (67), Jake Knapp (65) and Sam Stevens (66) also were at 9 under, rounding out the top 10.

Then came a massive group at 8 under, five back, that included world No. 36 Min Woo Lee, who bounced back from a double-bogey at the par-4 eighth hole (his 17th of the round) with a chip-in for birdie at the par-3 ninth, and two-time major winner Zach Johnson. Both shot a 68, and Nick Dunlap, who won earlier this season as an amateur and has since turned pro, shot 69 and also was at 8 under.

For Bhatia, the driver isn't his strong suit; he hit just 20 of 28 fairways through two rounds. And even when he did hit one fairway on his front nine Friday, it still disappeared, into a drainage hole on the par-5 17th.

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