Peter Uihlein is hitting his stride this weekend at the International Series Thailand, holding a tight lead at Thai Country Club.
Fresh off his August victory at the International Series England, Uihlein is aiming to add another win and boost his International Series Ranking.
After a stellar round with an eight-under-par 62, he now sits at 14-under, just one stroke ahead of Australian Maverick Antcliff.
With this week’s $2 million prize at stake, Uihlein wasted no time using his driver to his advantage, racking up nine birdies and a single bogey.
He said: “Sometimes boring golf can be fun, I guess. So, yeah, I’ve driven it nice the last two days, so have had a lot of wedges and irons from the fairways, greens are soft and receptive. So, I’ve played nice.”
He is very aware that he will need to continue to go low at the weekend if he is to stay on top.
“You probably can’t go even, even, I can tell you that,” joked the American, whose win in England was his first on the Asian Tour.
“So, you are going to have to keep going low, and it all just depends what the wind does.
We kind of played with a totally different way today than we did yesterday, so it’s kind of fun to see the course with a different direction.
But it kind of felt like it maybe made it a little bit easier, so we’ll see what the wind does, and how it plays tomorrow.”
With just five tournaments left this season, Uihlein has his eye on overtaking John Catlin at the top of the International Series Rankings, though it’s a tall order with Catlin holding a comfortable lead on both the rankings and the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
Australian Maverick Antcliff isn’t making it easy for Uihlein, though. After sharing the lead at the start, Antcliff carded a clean 64 to finish just one stroke back.
Known for his accuracy on the greens, he attributes his success to solid putting.
“The course is not overly long and you’re going to have a lot of opportunities,” said the Australian, who mentioned his name is Maverick, “Coz dad liked Top Gun”.
“Obviously the course is limited to only two par fives, but if you can just hit good putts, you should probably have a low score.”
Another standout performer this week is American Christian Banke, who posted a bogey-free 62 to stay in contention.
Teaming up with his former college teammate, Puwit Anupansuebsai, as his caddie has added to his confidence.
He explained: “I actually have a college teammate that’s caddying for me, Puwit Anupansuebsai, and honestly, I have him read the putts, and I just hit it. So, yeah it was good, we worked well together, and everything was dropping today.”
The duo were teammates at San Diego State and Banke adds: “He’s awesome. I mean, he drives me around, he translates for me, he orders the right food. It’s great to have him.”
As the tournament progresses, a strong lineup is emerging from various corners of the globe.
Chinese Taipei’s Lee Chieh-po and Chan Shih-chang, along with Thai up-and-comers David Boriboonsub and Sadom Kaewkanjana, all sit three strokes off the lead.
Mexican Santiago De la Fuente and other top contenders like Catlin, who bounced back with a 66, round out a packed leaderboard.
Each player is vying not just for the prize money, but for critical ranking points that could make all the difference in this season’s Asian Tour finale.
Catlin, after a 70 yesterday, bounced back with a 66 today to ensure he is here for the weekend to help to continue to build on his lead on both the Asian Tour and The International Series rankings.
He said: “It matters what you’re doing right now. And I’m playing fine. Maybe struggling to adapt a little bit to the greens – they are a little different (to last week). The speed and grain has fooled me on a couple of putts, but it’s quite soft and a bit slower.”
For more information on the International Series, visit www.internationalseries.com.
