Peter Uihlein takes advantage of smooth early conditions at Wentworth
Saturday 23 May 2015 15:26, UK
Peter Uihlein said playing on smoother greens early in the day made a “big difference” after he propelled himself up the leaderboard with a third-round 66 at the BMW PGA Championship.
The condition of the putting surfaces at Wentworth has been called into question over the week, with Luke Donald and Justin Rose among the critics, but Uihlein took advantage of being in the ninth group out on Saturday morning.
The American, who birdied two of the last three holes in his second round to make the cut with a shot to spare, reeled off four birdies in a row from the second and cruised to the turn in 31 before picking up further shots at 10 and 12.
Uihlein made his only mistake of the day at the tough 15th, but he rebounded with his seventh birdie of the round at 17 and parred the last to stay at six under for the tournament.
His form was also a welcome boost ahead of Monday's 36-hole US Open qualifier at Walton Heath as Uihlein bids to return to Chambers Bay, the venue for his US Amateur victory in 2010.
"I played well the two weeks in China (finishing fourth and eighth) and feel like my form is there, so I just have to keep going and trust it," said Uihlein.
"I don't need to say a lot about the greens here, a lot of people already have. But you can just see they are smoother in the morning. I think we were the ninth group out and that makes a big difference."
