Uihlein joins 4-man tie logjam on top

American Peter Uihlein took another significant step toward securing The International Series Rankings on Friday after finishing in a share of the halfway lead at the PIF Saudi International, powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, at Riyadh Golf Club.

Uihlein is tied at the top with fellow LIV Golf stars Cam Smith from Australia, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, and fellow American Logan McAllister. Uihlein, who won the International Series Qatar last week to claim the top spot in the rankings for the first time this year, remained in fine form, shooting a six-under-par 65 to move to 11-under.

Smith shot 64, Niemann 66 and McAllister set a new course record with a 63. Englishman Tyrrell Hatton, another LIV Golf alum, is one stroke further back after a 63, tied with compatriot Steve Lewton (65), Australia’s Travis Smyth (66), and American Jason Kokrak (68).

First-round leaders Chang Wei-lun from Chinese-Taipei and Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana both faltered with rounds of 73 and are now five under.

The top players have risen to the occasion in this season-ending event on the Asian Tour and The International Series. Uihlein, also a winner at the International Series England in August, uncharacteristically dropped two shots on two of the par fives — typically his strength — but chipped in for a birdie on the 16th to catch the leaders.

“I’m proud of the way I handled those situations, and yeah, I feel good,” the 35-year-old said. “Obviously, there are so many points available, and there are two more days. Anything can happen. I’m just going to keep trying to do what I’ve been doing and hopefully it keeps going.”

A thousand points will be awarded to the winner this week, making the rankings race wide open. The winner will also earn a place on the LIV Golf League next year.

“It would be awesome [to win the rankings]. It’s a goal to try to win The International Series Rankings. It would be nice to accomplish that goal. I feel like I’ve played pretty solid in most of the events this year. I’ve had a couple of hiccups, but for the most part, I’ve been pretty solid. It would be nice to finish it off,” Uihlein added.

Smith, looking for his first 72-hole victory since the 2022 Australian PGA Championship, is well positioned heading into the final two rounds. After missing out on a fourth Australian PGA title, finishing second, Smith arrived in Riyadh jet-lagged but took advantage of the calm morning conditions.

“I just played really solid,” the 2022 Open champion said. “I didn’t really do too much wrong. A bogey-free game was nice. It was just a really easy round of golf, which is obviously nice. It was nice getting out there this morning with no wind.”

“With a bit of jet lag, being off early worked out in our favor.”