Peter Uihlein has shot a bogey free round of 5-under 67 to be leading the American contingent into the weekend, placing him in a tie for 2nd ,only one shot back from tournament leader David Lingmerth.

The world number 184 was nothing but clinical, going out in a 3-under par 33 which included three birdies and six pars. The back-9 proved to be a tougher task opening with six straight pars as the hindering rain made things difficult on the greens until the birdie putts finally dropped on the 16th and 17th.

‘It’s tough when the rain comes and goes and then it’s windy as can be and then it kind of laid down and now it’s actually picking up; so it’s tricky.’ Uihlen said

‘My goal was to hit every green and I didn’t get that chance on 12 but other than that I took every chance I had at every green. Even if I had a wedge, I was just trying to hit the ball well and I was able to do that today.’

Playing alongside tournament drawcards John Senden and Brandt Snedeker, Uilhen has had to contend with large crowds over the last couple of days and so far he likes what he’s seen.

‘They’re good, they’re fun, they’re boisterous I guess is the term and they enjoy their golf. There were a couple of guys down there this morning, so it was good.’

The Graham Marsh remodelled RACV Royal Pines Resort layout has suited the big hitting American who has averaged over 300 yards in driving distance this year on the European Tour placing him just outside the top-20.

There was slight improvement for fellow American counterpart Brandt Snedeker who shot a round of 75 leaving him in a tie for 135th on 15-over par and a staggering 10 shots off the cut line.

‘I’ll go back home and try to figure something out. It’s not the start of the season I wanted at all, so obviously go back to the drawing board a little bit and figure things out.’