Akshay Bhatia stretches lead to 5 shots at windy Texas Open

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Akshay Bhatia survived a rocky start Friday in the Valero Texas Open by rallying with a pair of late birdies for a 2-under 70 that stretched his lead to five shots and raised hopes of getting the final spot in the Masters next week.

Bhatia started with a three-shot lead and opened with a 15-foot birdie putt, perhaps a sign that this might be another easy day. Far from it.

He made bogey from the bunker on the next hole. He three-putted for bogey from long range. He failed to birdie the par 5s on the back nine. He no longer had the lead.

But the 22-year-old settled himself with birdies on the par 5s on the front nine at the TPC San Antonio, and a birdie on the par-3 eighth. The wind kept whipping, challengers kept dropping and he wound up expanding his lead.

Bhatia was at 11-under 133. Denny McCarthy, who played in the afternoon, got within four shots of him until a bogey from the fairway on the par-5 18th for a 70. That dropped him to 6-under 138, along with Brendon Todd (72) and Russell Henley (69).

“It was stressful, for sure, wasn’t my best stuff,” Bhatia said. "I felt like I struggled a lot off the tee today, golf swing didn’t feel great with any of the longer stuff, but iron play was still phenomenal, wedges were good, made some nice putts.

“It was good to get the under-par round.”

Rory McIlroy had another steady day of pars and did well enough for a 70 to stay in the mix at 139.

McIlroy, in his final event before he tries again to complete the career Grand Slam at Augusta National, has made three birdies in each of the opening two rounds. His lone bogey was on the seventh hole, his 16th of the round, when he missed a 5-foot putt.

“I could stand here and say I wish I was a few shots better and missed a few putts and whatever, but it was tricky conditions,” McIlroy said. "Akshay is playing really well, but apart from that, no one’s really lighting the world on fire. Just keep grinding away.

“I've only made one bogey over two days, which I’m really pleased with,” he said. “Would have been nice to make a few more birdies, but pretty happy with the last two days.”

Bhatia won the Barracuda Championship last summer, but it was played the same week as the British Open and it did not get him into the Masters. Augusta National is holding one spot for the winner of the Texas Open.

Tommy Fleetwood (69), Webb Simpson (67) and Monday qualifier Peter Kuest (71) were among those at 140. Of the top nine players, only Bhatia, Todd, Simpson and Kuest are not already in the field for the Masters.

Jordan Spieth is a past Masters champion, and he won't have to leave early for Augusta. Spieth, who has missed his last two cuts, rallied with a 68 to not only make the cut but move into a tie for 10th, eight shots behind Bhatia.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Hideki Matsuyama hits his tee shot on the ninth hole during the second round of the Texas Open golf tournament, Friday, April 5, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Jordan Spieth hits his approach shot on the 10th hole during the second round of the Texas Open golf tournament, Friday, April 5, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Jordan Spieth blasts out of a bunker on the eighth hole during the second round of the Texas Open golf tournament, Friday, April 5, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Rory McIlroy hits his drive on the 18th hole during the second round of the Texas Open golf tournament, Friday, April 5, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Rory McIlroy reacts after making a birdie on the 18th hole during the second round of the Texas Open golf tournament, Friday, April 5, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Akshay Bhatia watches his tee shot on the 11th hole during the second round of the Texas Open golf tournament, Friday, April 5, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Akshay Bhatia hits out of a bunker on the eighth hole during the second round of the Texas Open golf tournament, Friday, April 5, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Akshay Bhatia hits his tee shot on the ninth hole during the second round of the Texas Open golf tournament, Friday, April 5, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel on Wednesday to press for a cease-fire deal, saying “the time is now" and warning that Hamas would bear the blame for any failure to get an agreement to halt the war in Gaza off the ground.

Blinken greeted the families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza who were protesting outside a meeting between him and Israel's president, telling them that setting their loved ones free was “at the heart of everything we’re trying to do.”

On his seventh visit since the latest war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October, Blinken is trying to advance a truce that would free hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a halt to the fighting and delivery of much needed food, medicine and water into Gaza. Palestinian prisoners are also expected to be released as part of the deal.

On Oct. 7, militants launched an unprecedented raid into southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting around 250 hostages. Israel says the militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

The Israel-Hamas war has flattened huge swaths of Gaza's north, and famine is imminent for the hundreds of thousands of civilians who remain there. Nearly seven months of Israeli bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza have killed more than 34,500 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and sparked a humanitarian catastrophe. On Tuesday, Blinken said that Israel plans on opening a major humanitarian aid crossing into hard-hit northern Gaza.

Currently:

— Blinken urges Israel and Hamas to move ahead with a cease-fire deal and says ‘the time is now.’

— Lebanese Christian leader says Hezbollah’s fighting with Israel has harmed Lebanon.

— Police clear pro-Palestinian protesters from Columbia University while clashes break out at UCLA.

— A Portuguese-flagged ship is hit far in Arabian Sea, raising concerns over Houthi rebel capabilities.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Here's the latest:

TEL AVIV, Israel —An Israeli court has released the sister of Hamas’ top leader to house arrest, after she was indicted for incitement and identification with a terror group, Israeli media reported.

The sister of Hamas’ supreme leader Ismail Haniyeh, Sabah Haniyeh, 57, was born in Gaza but has Israeli citizenship and lives in southern Israel. She was arrested in early April and indicted on April 21.

Haniyeh was released to house arrest on Wednesday.

According to the indictment, she sent several messages praising the Oct. 7 attack to Whatsapp groups that seem to include members of the extended Haniyeh family.

Previously, rights groups have accused Israel of cracking down on Palestinian online expression during the war. Palestinians have been arrested by Israeli authorities, fired by Israeli employers and expelled from Israeli schools for online speech deemed incendiary, rights groups say.

Israel is currently holding negotiations mediated by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar to try to release dozens of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a cease-fire in the nearly 7-month-old war.

Ismail Haniyeh lives in exile in Qatar.

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says his country has decided to formally join the legal case alleging genocide filed by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

Speaking at a joint news conference with his Indonesian counterpart, Retno Marsudi, in Ankara, Fidan said Turkey would submit an official application to intervene in the case against Israel at the ICJ after completing procedures. He did not give a time frame.

“We hope that with this step the proceedings at the International Court of Justice will move in the right direction,” Fidan said.

South Africa filed a case at the ICJ accusing Israel of breaching the U.N. Genocide Convention with its military offensive against Hamas. Israel fervently denies that its military campaign in Gaza amounts to a breach of the Genocide Convention.

Turkey is among the strongest critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Turkish President has described Israel’s actions as war crimes and genocide while asserting that the Hamas militant group, considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union, is fighting for the liberation of its lands and people.

CAIRO — A leaked proposal detailing an emerging cease-fire agreement would include an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in exchange for a planned release of hostages.

The proposal, confirmed Wednesday by an Egyptian official and a Hamas official, sheds light on the thorny details being hammered out in a bid to secure the deal. The details were first reported by Al-Akhbar, a Lebanese newspaper close to Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group.

According to the proposal, Hamas would release female civilian hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during the first week of a 40-day initial phase of the deal.

After this first batch, Israeli troops would withdraw from a coastal road and head eastward to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid and allow the return of displaced civilians to their homes in northern Gaza. Hamas would also provide a list of hostages who are still alive during that time.

Within the third week, both sides would start indirect negotiations that aim to restore permanent calm. Three weeks into the first phase, Israeli troops would withdraw from central Gaza.

The second six-week phase would finalize arrangements for a permanent calm, the release of all remaining hostages, both civilians and soldiers, held by Hamas, in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners. The soldier hostages will not be released before the start of the calm.

The third and final stage would include the release of the remains of hostages held in Gaza, more prisoners held by Israel and the start of a five-year reconstruction plan. The plan says that Hamas would agree not to rebuild its military arsenal.

Hamas earlier Wednesday said it wanted clarity from Egyptian mediators over certain terms of the deal, specifically over the unconditional return of displaced people to the north of Gaza and assurances the second stage will include a full withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza.

The Egyptian and Hamas officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing behind the scenes negotiations.

—-

By Associated Press writer Samy Magdy

TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken greeted the families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza who were protesting outside a meeting he held earlier Wednesday with Israel’s president.

Blinken briefly greeted several dozen demonstrators calling for an immediate hostage release deal on the sidewalk outside a Tel Aviv hotel. Earlier, he had met the families of Americans held captive by Hamas.

Chanting “SOS, USA, only you can save the day” and “In Blinken we trust, bring them home to us,” the protestors urged Blinken to make their case to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his War Cabinet.

Blinken told them that setting their loved ones free was “at the heart of everything we’re trying to do.”

In its Oct. 7 raid, Hamas killed 1,200 people and took some 250 people captive. About 100 were freed in a November truce. Hamas and other militant groups still hold 100, as well as the remains of 30 more, according to Israeli authorities.

Blinken is in the region to try to push Israel and Hamas to agree to a cease-fire deal that might bring a pause to the nearly seven-month-long war and free some of the remaining hostages. An emerging deal would see the release of 33 hostages in a first phase lasting six weeks, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

CAIRO — The Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday the bodies of 33 people killed by Israeli strikes have been brought to local hospitals over the past 24 hours. Hospitals also received 57 wounded, it said in its daily report.

That brings the overall Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war to at least 34,568, the ministry said, and 77,765 wounded.

The Health Ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its tallies, but says that women and children make up around two-thirds of those killed.

The Israeli military says it has killed 13,000 militants, without providing evidence to back up the claim.

CAIRO, Egypt — Hamas has asked Egyptian and Qatari mediators to provide clarity on the terms of the latest cease-fire proposal being discussed as part of negotiations with Israel, an Egyptian official said Wednesday.

The official, who has close ties to the talks and spoke on condition of anonymity in order to freely discuss the deal, said Hamas wants clear terms for the unconditional return of displaced people to the north of Gaza and to ensure that the second stage of the deal will include discussing the gradual and complete withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the entire Gaza Strip.

The official said the current deal didn’t fully explain who would be allowed to return north and how it would be decided.

It was not clear if Hamas’ demand for clarity would delay progress on the deal that's emerging out of some of the first serious rounds of talks between the sides in months. Israel and Hamas have been far apart on the key issue of whether the war eventually ends as part of a later phase of the deal.

The emerging phased deal includes the release of 33 civilian and sick hostages held by militants in exchange for a halt to the fighting and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

AP writer Samy Magdy contributed to this report.

TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was meeting with Israeli leaders on Wednesday, telling the country’s ceremonial president that “the time is now” for a cease-fire deal.

Blinken has blamed Hamas for any delay is getting a deal off the ground.

“We are determined to get a cease-fire that brings the hostages home and to get it now, and the only reason that that wouldn’t be achieved is because of Hamas,” he said.

Blinken visited key regional leaders in Saudi Arabia and Jordan before arriving to Israel. He met Israeli President Isaac Herzog and was set to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later. According to the State Department, he will meet also with families of the hostages as well as visit an Israeli port where aid is entering for shipment to Gaza.

The emerging deal between Israel and Hamas appears to be gaining steam but a key sticking point remains over whether the war will end as part of the agreement, a demand Hamas has stuck to and which Israel rejects.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, centre, is welcomed by Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Mike Herzog, as he arrives at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Israeli soldiers are seen at a staging ground near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv, Israel Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

A woman holds a banner and shouts slogans with families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza during a protest calling for their return, outside a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and families of hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, meets with the families and supporters of the hostages held by Hamas, outside of a hotel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks with Prince Rashid, Head of the Board of Trustees for JHCO as they visit a storage with humanitarian aid bound for Gaza at the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization in Amman, Jordan, April 30, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

This image provided by Maxar Technologies, shows an April 29, 2024, aerial view of USNS Roy P. Benavidez and floating dock sections during construction of the U.S. military's floating dock that is being assembled offshore of Gaza. The dock and floating pier will be part of the Joint Logistics Over the Shore (JLOTS) system that will help deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza,. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog meet in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)

A woman sits outside an encampment area on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Milwaukee. The Pro-Palestinian rally is calling for the University to cut ties with Israel and for peace in Gaza. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

A student wrapped in and Israeli flag listens to Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered on campus at the University of Texas at Austin, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

A woman wears a keffiyeh, left, while setting up a tent at an encampment of tents on the campus of Tufts University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Medford, Mass. Tufts University students set up the encampment as part of a protest against the war in Gaza. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Ami Aviv mother of Israeli reserve soldier Master sergeant Ido Aviv kisses his casket during his funeral in Carmiel, northern Israel, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Aviv, 28, was killed during Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits a storage unit with humanitarian aid bound for Gaza at the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization in Amman, Jordan, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

In this image provided by the U.S. Army, soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) and sailors attached to the MV Roy P. Benavidez assemble the Roll-On, Roll-Off Distribution Facility (RRDF), or floating pier, off the shore of Gaza in the Mediterranean Sea on April 26, 2024. The pier is part of the Army's Joint Logistics Over The Shore (JLOTS) system which provides critical bridging and water access capabilities. (U.S. Army via AP)

Students from the Lebanese American University (LAU) burn a picture of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a protest inside their university campus to demand a ceasefire and show support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Scores of students held pro-Palestinian protests at some of the largest universities in Beirut Tuesday expressing anger over the rising deaths during the Israel-Hamas war. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)