Tournament: BMW PGA Championship
Venue: Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey, England
Prize Fund: US$9,000,000
Race to Dubai: Tournament 35 of 42
Rolex Series: Tournament 3 of 5
Back 9: Tournament 4 of 9
Tournament Preview
Rory McIlroy returns to Wentworth Club with a spring in his step ahead of this week’s BMW PGA Championship, just a few days removed from his 20th DP World Tour victory at the Amgen Irish Open.
The Northern Irishman produced a grandstand finish as he eagled the last to force a play-off with Joakim Lagergren, which he won on the third extra hole, securing his fourth worldwide win of the season.
In a year in which he has won both his second PLAYERS Championship and second Irish Open title, the 36-year-old remains optimistic that he could also add a second BMW PGA Championship crown to his mantlepiece, following on from his victory in 2014.
He will tee it up in the first two rounds in the company of Ryder Cup teammates and fellow Major winners Shane Lowry and Jon Rahm. Lowry is also aiming for a second victory at Wentworth Club, three years on from finishing one stroke clear of the pair in 2022.
Rahm is making his fifth appearance at Wentworth this week and he has finished no lower than fourth in those four outings, with two runner-up results thus far.
Major Champion and former World Number One Justin Rose is making his 20th appearance in the BMW PGA Championship, almost a month to the day after his 12th victory on the PGA TOUR at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Rose is playing alongside a fellow FedExCup Champion in Tommy Fleetwood, who won the TOUR Championship at East Lake three weeks ago, and defending champion Billy Horschel, who is making his first competitive start since April after recovering from hip surgery.
Player Quotes
Rory McIlroy: “I feel like I’m playing two home events in a row, and being as a resident here now, as well. Yeah, it’s good to come back, even since the win here in 2014, I’ve had a lot of close calls to get my name on the trophy again. 2018 was second to Francesco. 2022, I think, second to Shane. But I think if it was four rounds I would have got him. And obviously last year, getting beaten by Billy in the play-off. But I’ve had a good run here at Wentworth.
“Last week was great and I won, but it doesn’t change anything. I’m using this time to prepare for what’s coming in a couple weeks’ time. Yeah, I wanted to get out (on the range). I wanted to get on the golf course and familiarise myself with the place.”
Jon Rahm: “I feel comfortable every time I play this course. I don’t know exactly what it is but it’s a golf course I enjoy. It’s a week I enjoy a lot. It’s a fun city to come to. It’s a fun golf course to play. I think all that plays a part. It’s always the end of the year, after playing all the majors and all the tours, coming to a unique week like this one, a unique golf course like this one is always a treat. I look forward to it and when I can come, it’s a fun experience and I hope I can keep the streak alive.”
Justin Rose: “It’s nice when you lose count. Obviously 20 is a decent number. I think of guys’ careers, and to sort of stay able, fit, willing and able for that long is sometimes impressive. Yeah, time flies. I guess time flies when you’re having fun. That’s probably the most important thing is I’m still very much enjoying my game, my golf and the opportunity to keep getting better and pushing to get better. I think I’m still playing not just to rack up numbers and rack up sticking around for as long as I can, and but be competitive and challenge, I’m enjoying that right now.”
Tommy Fleetwood: “It’s good to be back. Had a nice last couple of weeks in the UK and it’s always, I think the way that the sort of global schedule works now, I always enjoy coming back to this tournament and seeing faces that I don’t see every week, anyway. It’s kind of extra nice when you’ve got so many people saying “Well done” that you haven’t seen. So that’s really lovely.
“It’s nice being back at work. I think this is our flagship event. I always think it’s such a great event and quite a beautiful part of the world. Yeah, it feels nice to be somewhere familiar but also excited to get back to work.”
