Peter Uihlein is arguably better known outside of his home country than in it but he gave local fans a taste of his game en route to a 2&1 win over Rory McIlroy.
And McIlroy had to work to add some respectability to the scoreline.
Uihlein was 5 up through 10 holes, thanks to his three birdies and a couple of McIlroy stumbles. But starting at the 12th, McIlroy reeled off five consecutive birdies, including a 36-footer from the fringe at 14. But Uihlein matched two of those birdies and that was enough to shock the 2015 Match Play champ.
‘I made him earn it at least,’ said last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational winner.
‘I made the score line a little more respectable. I just came away a little flat. I didn’t really necessarily play badly. He played pretty well. It was a few under through 9, and got down early and he didn’t make a bogey all day, so it was hard to sort of claw my way back.’
Today, McIlroy plays Jhonattan Vegas, who halved his opener against Brian Harman.
Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
