Even without his ‘best stuff,’ Akshay Bhatia’s big 36-hole lead is among 5 things to know from Valero Texas Open

SAN ANTONIO — Some PGA Tour players insist they’re in such a zone when they climb to the top of the leaderboard that they’re not concerned with how others are playing or what scores they’re shooting.

Akshay Bhatia is not that guy.

After Friday’s second round of the 2024 Valero Texas Open Bhatia admitted that he’s prone to checking out where he sits on the board, and he continued that trend on Friday.

“I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing,” he said. “I’ll peek at it and it’s fun, I guess. It’s like when you’re in a good spot and you’re in contention, that’s where you want to be and it’s exciting. You look at that leaderboard and you say, wow, this is where I want to be. It’s a good thing, I think.”

Bhatia has seen his name atop that board for much of the first two days, leading off our five things to know after 36 holes of play: