American Peter Uihlein added a second-round seven-under-par 63 to his opening 64 to take a one-shot lead mid-way through Friday at the Link Hong Kong Open today – but it could have been so much better.

He has the clubhouse lead on 13-under here at the Hong Kong Golf Club, despite a triple-bogey seven on the ninth – his penultimate hole as he started on 11.

Tucked in behind him in second are the formidable duo of Louis Oosthuizen from South Africa and Thomas Pieters, who both shot 66s.

Australian Scott Hend and Micah Shin from the United States are two back in a tie for third, following 65s.

Half the field are still on the course, including Northern Ireland’s Tom  McKibbin, who carded a course record 60 yesterday.

Peter Uihlein.

Uihlein, chasing his third title on The International Series following two wins last year, made nine birdies today before disaster struck on the par-four ninth. A birdie on 10 helped with the damage.

“I blocked it,” he said of the seven. “Then chipped it through the fairway. Fatted it. Fatted it. Next one I wasn’t gonna fat it right?”

He’d cruised through his first nine in six-under, with four consecutive birdies from 12, and was running away with it before his unexpected finish.

Despite threatening to break McKibbin’s course record, he added: “I hit it awful. Absolutely. Hit it terrible. Oh, it was awful. I didn’t hit a fairway until 18, and then I was in the middle of a divot, and then my next fairway I hit was on four and just had a clod of mud. I drove it awful. So, no, there was no thoughts of anything like that [course record], it was survival.”

He won The International Series events in England and then in Qatar las year, for his first successes on the Asian Tour. He secured the first by seven and the next by five and will doubt be in the thick of the action again this weekend.

“Yesterday, hit it great,” he added. “I think today was just – I mean it’s not even 12 o clock, right? So, it’s still early in the morning, right? It’s just one of those things. I just didn’t hit it very good today, but hit it great yesterday. You know, I’m sure I’ll be  a couple back or so going on the weekend, so we’ll see.”

Pictures courtesy Graham Uden/Asian Tour.