Jackson (Mississippi), Oct 4 (IANS) Akshay Bhatia’s week at the Sanderson Farms Championship came to an early end as he failed to advance past the halfway stage at the Country Club of Jackson. The 22-year-old followed his opening even-par 72 with a 1-over 73 in the second round, finishing at 1-over 145 for 36 holes — five shots adrift of the cut line set at 4-under.

Starting his second round on the 10th tee, Bhatia dropped shots on the 14th and 16th but recovered with birdies on the 3rd and 5th. However, a closing bogey on the 8th, his penultimate hole, dashed hopes of a weekend appearance. He will look to bounce back quickly as the PGA TOUR’s fall schedule continues.

At the top of the leaderboard, South African Garrick Higgo surged ahead with rounds of 65 and 66 to reach 13-under. His second day included a composed back nine highlighted by four birdies, marking an impressive showing in his comeback season following hip surgery.

One stroke behind, Eric Cole and Taylor Montgomery share second at 12-under. Cole posted a steady 67 after his first-round fireworks that featured 10 birdies, while Montgomery produced the round of the day with a blistering 9-under 63 to join the chase. Danny Walker sits alone in fourth at 11-under as the field heads into the weekend.

Originally played at the Hattiesburg Country Club in Hattiesburg, the event moved in 1994 to Annandale Golf Club in Madison, which hosted it through 2013. The tournament’s host organisation, Century Club Charities, is a non-profit, tax-exempt organisation whose mission is to promote the game of golf for the benefit of charity. The Sanderson Farms Championship’s primary charity is Friends of Children’s Hospital, which benefits the Batson Children’s Hospital.

In 2024, the event was won by Kevin Yu of Taiwan, overcoming American Beau Hossler in a playoff, pocketing the winner’s purse of 1,368,000. This year, the winner will take home a cheque of 1,080,000 as the total purse has been reduced to 6,000,000 from 7,600,000 last year.

–IANS

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