RangeGoats GC’s Uihlein leads Int’l Series England; LIV Golf stars within striking distance
SURREY, England - RangeGoats GC's Peter Uihlein shot one of the rounds of his life on Friday - a course record 10-under 61 - to surge into the lead at the halfway stage of International Series England being played at Foxhills Club & Resort.
Uihlein made nine birdies, an eagle and one bogey and was 10 shots better than his first round. He stands at 10-under overall at the $2 million (US) event.
The LIV Golf star leads by one over RangeGoats GC teammate Thomas Pieters and Robert Dinwiddie from England.
Pieters shot 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.
Caleb Surratt of Legion XIII is one shot back after also carding a 66. Cleeks GC's Richard Bland is a stroke further behind following a 69 and is tied with Karandeep Kochhar (67) from India.
Uihlein finished tied for 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. He’ll be hoping to replicate shots like his approach on the par-4 13th, which he holed for 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,” Uihlein said. “I drove it nice in some key areas on the par 5s, 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.
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.
“Played similar to yesterday, just didn’t make enough putts," Pieters said. "I struggled on the greens. I am still pretty happy. I thought it was pretty tough this morning. I am in a good position.
“I am playing aggressively, hitting a lot of drivers. ... 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.”
Pieters 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 playoff 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 9-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.”
Dinwiddie turned professional in 2006 and is a three-time winner on the Challenge Tour, twice in 2007 and once in 2010.
Stinger GC's Branden Grace fired a 65 and is four behind the leader, along with Korean Seungtaek Lee (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 tied with Pieters, slipped back with a 74 and is 4-under.
John Catlin, who has played well as a LIV Golf League reserve player, currently leads both the Asian Tour merit list and International Series Rankings and carded a 72 to get to 2-under for the tournament.
(Photo courtesy of Asian Tour)