2023 BMW PGA Championship – Syndication Server

Ryan Fox upstages European Ryder Cup team, wins 2023 BMW PGA Championship

Fox birdied eight of his last 13 holes during Sunday’s final round.

Ryan Fox birdied the 18th hole to win the 2023 BMW PGA Championship for his fourth DP World Tour victory, pumping his fist in the air just as the ball was dropping into the cup.

Along the way, he upstaged the European Ryder Cup team.

All 12 members of the squad arrived at Wentworth Club for one last tournament of preparation ahead of the biennial matches against the Americans, and all 12 made the cut, including Tyrrell Hatton, who birdied the 18th to forge a tie atop the leaderboard at 17 under.

But it was Fox who overcame a triple-bogey 7 on the third hole with birdies on eight of his last 13 holes during Sunday’s weather-interrupted final round to post a closing 67 and win his first Rolex Series event by a shot over Hatton and Aaron Rai.

“I played great, pretty much from the third hole on, didn’t miss a shot,” he said after his round. “It was a pretty cool feeling on the last, knowing I had one to win it and actually make it.”

Fox birdied four of the first five holes on the second nine before the weather stalled the action.

“The back nine was crazy. I made birdie from the trees on 15, first hole back after the delay,” he said.

Jon Rahm grabbed solo fourth, two shots back. He had an eagle putt on the 18th hole that would’ve tied him for the lead, but he missed just left to finish 16 under.

Rai also had an eagle putt at the last and while his ball was tracking, it could only catch a bit of the edge of the cup and it lipped out.

Ryder Cup rookie-to-be Ludvig Aberg held the 54-hole lead by a shot after rounds of 68-66-66 but shot a final-round 76, his card featuring two bogeys, two double bogeys and just two birdies.

Defending tournament champion Shane Lowry tied for 18th after shooting a final-round 71 which included a 9 on the par-5 17th hole.

How the European Ryder Cup team did

T-2. Tyrrell Hatton, 17 under
4. Jon Rahm, 16 under
5. Viktor Hovland, 15 under
6. Tommy Fleetwood, 14 under
T-7. Rory McIlroy, 13 under
T-10. Sepp Straka, 12 under
T-10. Ludvig Aberg, 12 under
T-18 Shane Lowry, 10 under
T-18. Matt Fitzpatrick, 10 under
T-36. Justin Rose, 5 under
T-45. Robert MacIntyre, 4 under
T-64. Nicolai Hojgaard, even

European team captain Luke Donald finished 5 under, tied for 36th.

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Ludvig Aberg holds a two-shot lead at BMW PGA Championship, seeks back-to-back wins

Here’s how things stand at the BMW PGA entering the final round.

One thing is starting to become clear: the Ryder Cup in Rome is not going to be Whistling Straits 2.0. The Europeans are rounding into form, and the leaderboard after round three of the BMW PGA Championship reflects just that.

Ludvig Aberg (16 under), one of Europe’s Ryder Cup rookies, has turned in rounds of 68-66-66 around Wentworth Club and leads Ryder Cupper Tommy Fleetwood (5-under 67) and Connor Syme (7-under 65) by two shots.

Aberg has been one of the hottest players on Earth over the last few months, tying for 14th at the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship, for fourth at the D+D Real Czech Masters and winning the European Masters in his last start.

The Swede got it going early with an eagle at the par-5 fourth and added two more circles on Nos. 7 and 8, making the turn with a 4-under 31. After trading a circle for a square at Nos. 12 and 13, Aberg birdied Nos. 15 and 18 to sign for his second consecutive 6-under 66.

BMW PGA: Full leaderboard

Fleetwood, who last tied for sixth at the Tour Championship in Atlanta, started his day with a bogey at No. 3 but got it back and then some on the next hole, draining a 13-foot eagle effort. He made four more birdies on his day and is in great position to chase down the young Aberg. The Englishman’s last worldwide win came at the 2022 Nedbank Golf Challenge.

Aaron Rai (67), Ryan Fox (66) and Callum Shinkwin (64) are tied for fourth at 13 under, Jon Rahm (66) is alone in seventh at 12 under, while Sepp Straka (69), Marcus Helligkilde (69), Tyrrell Hatton (68) and Nathan Kimsey (67) are tied for eighth at 11 under.

In all, seven members of the European Ryder Cup team are inside the top 20 in Surrey, England.

Final-round coverage of the BMW PGA will be available on Golf Channel from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET.

How are the 12 Team Europe Ryder Cuppers faring at the BMW PGA Championship?

One of the major subplots at this week’s BMW PGA Championship is how the Team Europe players are faring.

Earlier this month, U.S. captain Zach Johnson locked in his 12-player roster for the upcoming 2023 Ryder Cup, and European captain Luke Donald followed by doing the same.

After the conclusion of the 2023 Omega European Masters the six automatic qualifiers – three from a world points list and three from a European points list – for Team Europe that are bound for Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy were confirmed. Donald then made his six captain’s picks, including a pair of surprise rookies.

As we’re counting down the days until the biennial event in Italy, one of the major subplots at this week’s BMW PGA Championship in Surrey, England, is how the Team Europe players are faring.

Euro team captain Luke Donald is also competing at Wentworth, as are five of his six vice captains. Vice captain Nicolas Colsaerts is doing the best out of this group, as he’s tied for 38th. Vice captains Thomas Bjorn, Francesco Molinari and Edoard Molinari all missed the cut. Jose Maria Olazabal isn’t playing.

Here’s where the 12 members stand after two days:

Ludvig Aberg, Sebastian Soderberg co-lead 2023 BMW PGA Championship

Ludvig Aberg was playing college golf at Texas Tech just a few months ago.

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There are two weeks to go until the 2023 Ryder Cup and the biennial event in Italy is the major subplot at this week’s BMW PGA Championship in Surrey, England.

All 12 of the European Ryder Cup team members are participating at Wentworth Club but it’s the rookie of the bunch making big waves this week.

Ludvig Aberg, who was playing college golf at Texas Tech just a few months ago, won for the first time on the DP World Tour just 12 days ago.

On Friday, after three birdies over his first eight holes, Aberg hit a speedbump with a double bogey on the ninth hole, but responded on the second nine with five birdies, including three straight to close out his round of 66 to get to 10 under.

Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg is trying to crash the party. He shot the second 64 of the week – first-round leader Marcus Helligkilde had the other – and is at 10 under after 36 holes. He finished birdie-eagle, hitting his second on the par-5 closing hole to 15 feet and then draining the putt.

Considered the biggest Ryder Cup snub on the Team Europe side, Poland’s Adrian Meronk was 5 under after his first 18 holes and was a co-leader at 9 under for much of the day Friday. He is tied for third alongside Thomas Detry and Masahiro Kawamura.

Billy Horschel, who won this event two years ago, opened with a 75 but shot the round of the week with a 63 – thanks to seven birdies and an eagle – on Friday to zoom up the leaderboard. He’s tied for 16th.

BMW PGA: Full leaderboard | Star-studded pro-am photos

There was a 1 hour, 20-minute delay to Friday’s action due to fog and it was a sprint to finish the second round but they didn’t quite get all the golf in, so the round will resume Saturday morning.

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Marcus Helligkilde leads, biggest European Ryder Cup snub inside top 5 at BMW PGA Championship

Catch up on Thursday’s action from Wentworth here.

The first round of the BMW PGA Championship was suspended due to darkness with just a handful of players left on the course, but after Day 1 Marcus Helligkilde holds a two-shot lead over Richie Ramsay and European Ryder Cupper Matt Fitzpatrick.

Helligkilde got around the Wentworth Club Thursday in 8-under 64, a round that included five birdies and a bogey on each side. His big run came on Nos. 4-9 where he made five birdies in six holes.

The 232nd-ranked golfer in the world from Denmark has yet to win on the DP World Tour, but has put together a solid stretch of late tying for fourth at the ISPS Handa World Invitational and for 13th at the European Masters a few weeks ago.

“I did it by hitting it terrible on the range,” he said when asked how he put his round together, “and as my coach says, I asked him, what should I do, and he’s like, yeah, you’re probably going to play great. So that was what happened.”

BMW PGA: Full leaderboard | Star-studded pro-am photos

Fitzpatrick, like Helligkilde, had two bogeys on his card but made eight birdies, good enough for a 6-under 66. The Englishman has found his game over the last month or so, tying for second at the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship, for ninth at the Tour Championship and for third at the European Masters. He’s just one of the several European Ryder Cuppers entering the biennial battle in Rome in great form.

Adrian Meronk of Poland plays his second shot on the 16th hole during Day One of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf Club on September 14, 2023 in Virginia Water, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

One of the biggest Ryder Cup snubs, Adrian Meronk, is sitting pretty at 5 under after his first 18 holes. With all 12 members of the team in the field — plus captain Luke Donald — Meronk is looking to send a message in Surrey, England.

As for some of the big names, Ludvig Aberg (4 under) and Tyrrell Hatton are T-12, Viktor Hovland (3 under), Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood are T-21, Tom Kim (2 under) is T-31, Jon Rahm (1 under) is T-45 and Rory McIlroy (Even) is T-65.

“It was great. A little bit more people than I’m used to following me around,” Aberg said after playing with McIlroy and Hovland. “It was really fun playing with those two guys. Obviously, the level of golf that they can do is pretty amazing and for me to watch that is pretty cool.

“I was kind of walking around and then almost pinched myself in the arm on the fairways but really enjoyed it, and proud of the way I handled it today.”

The three European stars will tee off at 7:40 a.m. ET for their second rounds.

Coverage resumes on Golf Channel Friday morning from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET.

Rory McIlroy gushes over European Ryder Cup rookie teammate’s impressive talent

“I was on the bandwagon before. Certainly at the front of it now.”

The Ludvig Aberg hype train left the station a few months ago and golf fans have slowly been climbing on as the 23-year-old has continued to excel throughout the early stage of his career.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy has been riding the train for a while now, but he might be the conductor after getting to know Europe’s rising star in Italy on a team scouting trip ahead of the 2023 Ryder Cup later this month.

“It was amazing. I’m sort of surprised it’s the first time we’d ever really done it,” said McIlroy during his pre-tournament press conference for the DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club in Surrey, England. “Yeah, there’s a few new faces on the team and I thought it was a great exercise in terms of getting to know one another a little bit better. I had an opportunity to play with Ludvig for the first time on Monday, which I was excited about. I told him, ‘I said I’ve been looking forward to this for a while.’”

MORE: Meet the 2023 European Ryder Cup team

Four months ago Aberg was competing for Texas Tech at the NCAA Championship. Fast forward to today and he’s a winner on the European-based tour and being complimented profusely by one of the best players of a generation. Life comes at you fast when you’re playing good golf.

“Everyone talks about what a great driver of the golf ball he is and. … which he is. The ball-striking is incredible,” McIlroy said of Aberg while noting he even exceeded his already high expectations. “But I was really impressed with his wedge play and how he can sort of control his trajectory with shorter clubs. I was on the bandwagon before. Certainly at the front of it now.”

Later in the day Aberg told reporters that he and Viktor Hovland played a best-ball match against McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood on Monday and that he and Hovland won on the 16th hole, “which was fun.”

While the level of praise may be new, McIlroy going to bat for younger plays is anything but. Almost a year ago to the day he had this to say about how Team Europe was in need of a rebuild:

“I think the European Team has a core of six or seven guys that I think we all know are pretty much going to be on that team, and then it’s up to some of the younger guys to maybe step up.”

“But I think we were in need of a rebuild, anyway. It was sort of, we did well with the same guys for a very long time but again as I just said, everything comes to an end at some point. I think Whistling Straits is a good sort of demarcation, I guess.

“That’s all behind us. We have got a core group of guys but let’s build on that again, and instead of filling those three or four spots with older veterans, let’s blood some rookies and let’s get them in and build towards the future. I think that’s important.”

Luke Donald and his staff of vice captains agreed as the Europeans will bring four rookies to Rome – Robert MacIntyre, Sepp Straka, Nicolai Hojgaard and Aberg – three of which were captain’s picks.

“It’s a transitional time for the European Ryder Cup team,” said McIlroy, doubling down on his comments from a year prior. “There’s guys that have been amazing Ryder Cuppers for two decades, basically, and you know, unfortunately things move on and you need to try to bring in some fresh talent. We certainly have that this year in terms of someone like Sepp who came on the scene the last couple years and has played some great golf.”

“I felt like the 12 of us are on the same level, there’s no type of hierarchy on the team,” he added. “Just making the new guys as comfortable as possible. To me, that’s a really cool thing about the last couple days.”

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Photos: 2023 BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club

Another great week at the Wentworth Club is on deck.

The DP World Tour’s flagship event is here, as a stacked field including Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm has descended upon Wentworth Club in Surrey, England, for the BMW PGA Championship. In fact, all 12 members of the European Ryder Cup team, plus captain Luke Donald, will tee it up come Thursday morning. The squad was at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome earlier this week for a scouting trip.

Shane Lowry, the tournament’s defending champion, played well at The K Club last week during the Irish Open, eventually tying for third.

Here are some of the best photos from the 2023 BMW PGA Championship.

2023 BMW PGA Championship odds, picks to win

Here are 3 players to keep an eye on, including Min Woo Lee (28/1).

One of the biggest events on the DP World Tour schedule is here as an absolutely stacked field has made its way to Surrey, England, for the BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club.

Last year, Shane Lowry barely escaped Rory McIlroy — his final putt rested on the lip of the 72nd hole to force a playoff — for his sixth European circuit win. After failing to make the FedEx Cup Playoffs, Lowry missed the cut at the D+D Real Czech Masters. However, he tied for third at last week’s Irish Open at The K Club.

All 12 members of the European Ryder Cup team are in the field this week along with Tom Kim, Adam Scott, Billy Horschel and Min Woo Lee.

Golf course

Wentworth Club | Par 72 | 7,267 yards

Tag: 2023 BMW PGA Championship