Jason Lowe and Jamie Hughes reach fourth round at UK Open
Black Country duo Jason Lowe and Jamie Hughes bowed out of the UK Open at the fourth-round stage on Saturday afternoon, writes Josh Green.
Wayne Jones, Liam Kelly and Mark Craddock all exited the tournament on Friday, but after a receiving a bye in the third round Hughes set up a meeting with Stoke’s Ian White.
Despite the treacherous conditions all five players made it to Minehead, ploughing though the snow to put toe to oche on Friday afternoon.
Lowe, who is from Cradley Heath, enjoyed an excellent qualifying campaign in Wigan two weeks ago, meaning he faced John Scott in round two of the tournament.
Scott, who is a frequent qualifier for the UK Open finals, kept the pressure on Lowe throughout the match pushing him all the way to a 10th leg.
A crucial 116 finish in the fifth leg of the match broke the Scott throw and put him on the way to confirming his place in the last 32.
Lowe would nail double 10 for the 6-4 victory, setting up a meeting with Chris Dobey, whose class would be too much for the builder by trade.
After going 5-3 down, a spectacular 118 checkout would keep him contention. But Lowe would collect just two more legs as he fell to a 10-5 defeat at the hands of Dobey.
Tipton ace Hughes averaged 95 in his first PDC major tournament since switching from the BDO. ‘Yozza’ pushed Ian White all the way to deciding leg.
The experience of White would shine through as he squeezed through to reach the last 16, maintaining his 100 average for the tournament.
