Philadelphia, May 7 (PTI) Indian-American golfer Akshay Bhatia, who has endured a mixed run of form this season, will aim to climb the FedEx Cup standings as he prepares for the Truist Championship, starting here Thursday.

Also hoping to make an impact this week are Sahith Theegala and Aaron Rai, both of whom are looking to build momentum heading into a demanding phase of the PGA Tour calendar.

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The field is stacked with quality, led by Rory McIlroy -- winner of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, THE PLAYERS, and the Masters this year. Nine of the world's top ten players are in action, with only World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler absent.

The Truist Championship marks the beginning of a busy seven-week stretch on the Tour, featuring three Signature Events and two major championships. With playoff implications looming large, this period will be vital for players looking at making the Play-offs.

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Bhatia had an impressive third place at the PLAYERS. He finished ninth at the Mexico Open and Tied-ninth at the Genesis Invitational.

With just three missed cuts in 11 starts, Bhatia is placed 42nd on the standings. Only the Top-30 get to the Tour Championships, where Bhatia made a maiden appearance in 2024.

Theegala, on the other hand, has had a rather lean season with just two Top-25 finishes and no Top-10s. Yet he has missed only one cut in 13 starts and his Top-25 finishes came in Genesis (T-17) and Zurich Classic (T-18) with Aaron Rai.

Theegala is lying way behind at 104th in the standings and needs to move up fast to get into the Play-offs, which begin in August.

Meanwhile, Rai's sole Top-10 this season came at Mexico where he was T-4. But he has had five Top-25s. He is lying 42nd.

Hosting the heavy-duty field is the Philadelphia Cricket Club, standing in for Quail Hollow, which is set to host the PGA Championship next week.

Led by McIlroy, the other big names include Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Ludvig Aberg, Hideki Matsuyama, Russel Henley, Maverick McNealy, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and many more including Justin Rose, Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth.

Tournament officials have announced that due to potential inclement weather on Thursday and Friday, tee times for the first two rounds will begin at 11:09 a.m. local time.

Bhatia plays with Matsuyama and Schauffele, while Theegala plays with Cameron Young and Max Greyserman and Rai tees up with Austin Eckroat and Will Zalatoris.

Defending champion McIlroy will tee up alongside Thomas and Fleetwood.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)