American Peter Uihlein shot one of the rounds of his life today, a course record 10-under-par 61, to surge into the lead at the halfway stage of International Series England – being played at Foxhills Club & Resort, in Surrey.
His round, made up of an eagle, nine birdies and one bogey, was remarkably 10 shots better than his first round and saw him move to 10-under for the US$2million event.
The LIV Golf star leads by one from Belgium’s Thomas Pieters – his RangeGoats GC team-mate on the LIV Golf League and joint-first round leader – and surprise-package Robert Dinwiddie from England.
Pieters returned a 69, and Dinwiddie – one of six players who made it through the 18-hole qualifier for this event – carded a 66 on the Longcross course.
BLAND IN THE MIX
American Caleb Surratt is one shot back after also carding a 66, with England’s Richard Bland a stroke further behind, following a 69, along with Karandeep Kochhar from India, who shot a 67.
Uihlein finished joint third in this year’s Saudi Open presented by PIF to record his best finish on the Asian Tour, where he first started playing in 2012, and will have a chance to better that this weekend.
He’ll be hoping to replicate shots like his approach on the par-four 13th which he holed for an eagle.
“Just kind of drove it up to a lot of holes, had a lot of chips for eagle and just had comfortable up and downs,” said Uihlein.
“I drove it nice in some key areas on the par fives, and the drivable holes, and kept it in between the trees, which is all you need to do.
“I putted unbelievable. I putted really, really well. Made a lot of pars around six, seven, eight, big par putts to kind of keep the round going when I was a couple under early, so that was nice.”
He beat the previous record by two shots, with a birdie on the 18th allowing him to grab the lead at the end of the day.
Said Pieters: “Played similar to yesterday, just didn’t make enough putts. I struggled on the greens. I am still pretty happy. I thought it was pretty tough this morning. I am in a good position.”
Pieters’ most recent victory was at the 2022 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship while he came close to a seventh DP World Tour victory earlier this season when he tied for second at the Soudal Open.
“I am playing aggressively, hitting a lot of drivers,” added the 32-year-old.
“I am kind of like chipping them down the fairway with my driver. Hopefully I can keep doing the same. I didn’t play golf last week; I took the week off. Sometimes it is good to refresh the mind; swing thoughts are gone. Just kind of get up there and hit it.”
He carded four birdies and two bogeys.
Englishman Dinwiddie’s performance is even more impressive considering he was one of three players who made it through an eight-man play-off in the qualifier.
The spirit he showed that day was evident once more today as he made seven birdies and two bogeys.
“Well, look, I’m really happy to be nine under and that’s for sure,” said the 41-year-old.
“Putted amazingly well yesterday, didn’t hit the ball great. I hit the ball a bit better today and continued to putt pretty well from 10-15 feet. But you know, still, I haven’t really hit the ball that well, amazingly, the last couple of days.
“But maybe I haven’t got myself in crazy trouble, and then I have putted reasonably well which has kind of made up for it. So, I’m really happy. I’m hopeful that I can maybe hit the ball a little bit better over the next couple of days and see what happens.”
AMAZING GRACE
The Englishman turned professional in 2006 and is a three-time winner on the Challenge Tour, twice in 2007 and once in 2010.
South African Branden Grace fired a 65 and is four behind the leader, along with Korean Seungtaek Lee, in with a 70.
India’s Jeev Milkha Singh, the oldest player in the field at 53, rolled back the years by carding a 68 and is an additional shot back.
Canadian Richard T. Lee, who started the day joint leader with Pieters, slipped back with a 74 and is four-under.
American John Catlin, currently leading both the Asian Tour merit list and International Series Rankings, returned a 72 and is two under for the tournament.