Uihlein one shot back after Round 1 of International Series Thailand

RangeGoats GC member Peter Uihlein is tied for second after Round 1 of the International Series Thailand following a 6-under 64.

Charlie Lindh from Sweden and Australians Jed Morgan and Maverick Antcliff are tied at the top after posting 7-under 63s at Thai Country Club in Bangkok.

Paul Peterson, Chinese-Taipei’s Chan Shih-chang and Lee Chieh-po, China’s Sampson Zheng, and Richard T. Lee from Canada are among those tied with Uihlein entering Friday's second round.

Uihlein, winner of the International Series England in August, said he still has one eye on finishing top of The International Series Rankings. He is currently seventh on the Asian Tour Order of Merit and third in the rankings. His countryman John Catlin, a LIV Golf League reserve player, is the runaway leader on both rankings, particularly after finishing second at last week’s Black Mountain Championship – where he was beaten by compatriot Michael Maguire in a sudden-death play-off.

“The Asian Tour [Order of Merit] is probably not gettable with John [Catlin] ahead,” Uihlein said. "I think he’s pulled ahead pretty far away on The International Series one as well ... I’d have to win this week, really, because John played great last week.”

Uihlein is more than 2,000 points behind Catlin on the Asian Tour Merit list, but 362.78 back on The International Series Rankings. The 35-year-old was delighted with his round, made up of six birdies and no bogeys, even though he wasn’t confident with his irons.

“A miracle,” said Uihlein, who tied for 44th in last week’s Black Mountain Championship, also part of The International Series. “I didn’t know what to do half the time I was in the fairway. So yeah, it was good off the tee. It was fantastic. Holed the putts when I hit it close and, you know, that’s what you got to do. ... It’s just, I like, visually, it’s a pretty looking course. Reminds me a bit of Florida.”

Multiple LIV Golf League members are participating this week, including Branden Grace (67, T34), Sam Horsfield (67, T34), Kieran Vincent (68, T57), Jinichiro Kozuma (69, T73), Danny Lee (71, T116) and Scott Vincent (71, T116).

Leader Lindh is a graduate from this year’s Asian Tour Qualifying School – he earned the sixth card – and has gradually been finding his feet in the region this year, as highlighted by today’s strong round of seven birdies and no dropped shots.

“It felt easy," Lindh, 27, said. "We had a good plan coming in today, and I had a great start, right away, and I had a good feeling, and just kept going. Steve [his caddie] made a couple of great calls on our back nine, which is the front, which held the score together.”

Lindh is currently 45th on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, having made seven cuts out of the 12 events he has started. He tied for 10th in the Yeangder TPC last month for his best finish of the season so far, and enjoyed the biggest pay day of his career a month earlier at the International Series England, were he was joint 13th. He won US$28,350 there.

The good run of form comes despite an injury concern.

“I’ve been having some issue with my wrists,” said the Swede, who qualified for The Open this year, the first time he has played in a major, but missed the cut. “I haven’t practiced the way I want to but it’s getting better and better, and I do get a lot of help from the physio – which I appreciate very much. And so everything’s been getting better.”

Like Lindh, Morgan is also playing his first full season on the Asian Tour – off the back of a number of invites last year thanks to an outstanding 2022 that saw him win the Australian PGA Championship and the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit. He stormed through with four birdies in a row from the 13th.

“Very happy with the way I putted obviously,” said Morgan. “And also very pleased with my approach shots. The back nine especially felt nice – it was good to see a few putts in a row go in. ... Not sure I would say it [today] was a return to form because I have felt good about my game for a while now. I have been happy with my game, but I just haven’t been producing any results.”

Maguire, still on a high after his win on Sunday, fired a 67, as did defending champion Wade Ormsby from Australia, while Catlin has work to do following a 70.

This week’s US$2 million event is part of an exciting climax to the season on the Asian Tour. It’s the 16th event of the year with five events remaining, and the sixth of 10 stops on The International Series – 10 upper-tier, multi-million dollar tournaments that are part of the Tour. The final rankings winner will secure a place on the LIV Golf League.

(Photo courtesy of Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour)