Peter Uihlein shoots 64 to claim first-round lead in Thailand
Friday 11 March 2016 12:18, UK
Peter Uihlein set the first-round pace at the True Thailand Classic with an impressive eight-under-par 64 at the Black Mountain Golf Club.
The American took advantage of benign early conditions to card nine birdies and just one bogey to claim a one-shot advantage over Pelle Edberg, while Scott Jamieson is a shot further adrift after a flawless 66.
Uihlein was sidelined for three weeks with a wrist injury he suffered ahead of the Dubai Desert Classic early last month, but he posted top-10 finishes in Kuala Lumpur and Perth and continued his encouraging form in Hua Hin.
Starting on the 10th, Uihlein birdied his first two holes before he found water at the 12th and bogeyed, but he got the shot straight back at the next and picked up further strokes at the 16th and 17th to turn in 32.
Despite missing a birdie chance at the long 18th, the 26-year-old made it four birdies in five holes with a three-four start to the front nine, and rolled in two more birdie putts at six and seven before parring in to claim the clubhouse lead which only Edberg threatened later in the day.
"Last week I had a nice vacation, didn't touch a club which was nice," Uihlein told the European Tour afterwards. "I just rocked up here. You come up here with a clean slate and a fresh start.
"I hit it so bad on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, so I was kind of bummed. So it's nice to do this today. Once the tournament got going, I just relaxed. I'm pleased I putted well and the putter is still hot which is nice. I hit some good wedges, some good iron shots. It was good."
Edberg was on course to snatch the outright lead when he put together a sensational run of eight birdies in nine holes from the 12th, and his ninth birdie of the day at the sixth - his 15th - took him to the top of the leaderboard.
But the Swede, making his 200th European Tour start, bogeyed two of his last three holes to sign for a 65 which left him in outright second, while Jamieson shares third with Javier Colomo.
Jamieson also began his round on the back nine and made a quiet start with six pars before reeling off five straight birdies from the 16th, and he added a well-crafted four at the long sixth.
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Colomo also kept a bogey off his card and birdied the last two holes to join the Scot on six under, while English pair Gary Boyd and Robert Dinwiddie opened with faultless five-birdie 67s.
Welshman Rhys Davies, twice a winner on the Challenge Tour last season, birdied three of the last four holes to join the group on five under which also includes Scot Simon Yates, who was level par over the back nine before covering the outward half in 31.
Shot of the day went to Jason Scrivener, who hit a perfect eight-iron at the 160-yard third for a superb hole-in-one, although he missed out on a prize for his efforts as only an ace at the 14th is rewarded with a new car.
