 |
| Getty Images |
Shane Lowry ended his second round at The Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com with a one over par 73, having mixed four bogeys and three birdies at the Trump International Golf Club in San Juan. But it was not enough to recover from an opening day 77 and so his plans for another weekend of play on the PGA Tour was cut short.
Lowry had been seeking a top ten finish to play the Tampa Bay Championship next week but trailing 20 shots off the leader, Andres Romero, ended those hopes.
Peter Uihlein, who has played on four different professional golf tours in four different countries is scheduled to fly roughly 9,000 miles to an European Tour event in India next week.
"That'll be a short trek," he joked. But he may not need to make it.
Uihlein, a past U.S. Amateur champion, could work his way into next week's Tampa Bay Championship presented by EverBank if he finishes in the top 10 in Puerto Rico. So far, so good, as he's 12 under through the first two rounds in Puerto Rico, a total that left him as the clubhouse leader when he finished midway through Friday's second round at Trump International.
"It's one of my favorite golf courses. I love Innisbrook," Uihlein said about the Tampa course, which he played in 2011 on a sponsor's exemption. "But as of right now, I'm scheduled to go to India, so we'll see."
His play in Puerto Rico is a continuation of how Uihlein has performed this season. In the previous five weeks, he's played five events, with four top-20 finishes, including a tie for fourth at last week's Tshwane Open in South Africa on the European Tour.
On Friday, he shot a bogey-free 7-under 65 to follow up his opening 67.
"I felt like I've been playing well for a little while," Uihlein said. "And you know, it's the sixth week for me and I feel like every week's been good. It's just a matter of my scoring clubs, taking advantage of those."
The 23-year-old Uihlein also knows he's still in the learning stage of his professional career. Finding himself in contention will only accelerate the learning curve. At the Joburg Open in February, he was in the top 10 in the first three rounds before finishing tied for 19th. Last week, he remained in contention in the final round.
"Having the lead or being around the lead again is great," Uihlein said. "It's the way you're going to get more comfortable at it. The only way you're going to get more comfortable at it is to keep doing it. So hope I can keep playing well, and I'm excited."
No comments:
Post a Comment