Tag: BMW PGA Championship

Photos: 2022 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth

Here are some of the best photos from the 2022 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

It’s going to be an interesting week at Wentworth for the 2022 BMW PGA Championship. PGA Tour stars Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick are in the field but so are nearly 20 members of the LIV Golf Series including Patrick Reed, Abraham Ancer and Taylor Gooch.

The DP World Tour suspended all LIV members, but courts issued a stay of suspension. A hearing is scheduled for February to revisit the situation.

McIlroy is the betting favorite at +600 followed by Rahm at +750.

Wentworth is a par-72 track that will measure just over 7,200 yards this week.

Here are some of the best photos from the week in England.

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2022 BMW PGA Championship odds, field notes, best bets and picks to win

Worlds are set to collide at Wentworth, thanks to a heavy LIV presence.

It’s time to get awkward at Wentworth.

Although PGA Tour stars like Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick litter the field for this week’s BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour, LIV Golf members will also tee it up, including Patrick Reed,  Abraham Ancer and Taylor Gooch.

In all, nearly 20 members of the Saudi-backed league are in Surrey, England.

“It’s going to be odd seeing certain people at Wentworth. That is going to be a bit weird, and obviously, it’s a little bit disappointing. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens,” Fitzpatrick said at the Tour Championship.

According to a report by ESPN, LIV players have been asked to not wear LIV logos during competition.

Let’s dive in.

Golf course

Wentworth Club | Par 72 | 7,267 yards

General view on the 14th green during a practice round prior to the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf Club on September 06, 2022, in Virginia Water, England. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Key stats

  • Strokes Gained: Approach
  • SG: Ball-striking

Betting preview

Get ready for LIV Golf/PGA Tour tensions to hit a high this week as all parties meet at the BMW PGA Championship

Golf’s season of discontent rumbles on.

Rory McIlroy’s thrilling victory in the Tour Championship was an absorbing end to the campaign in the United States, but golf’s season of discontent rumbles on.

This week at Wentworth Club in Surrey, England, the DP World Tour’s flagship event — the BMW PGA Championship — takes center stage and will feature 18 players who have all defected to the LIV Golf Series. It could be uncomfortably awkward as the moment this scribe realized I had to wear speedos in a French public swimming pool. Sacre bleu indeed.

The likes of Abraham Ancer, Jason Kokrak, Kevin Na and Talor Gooch, who had hardly shown much interest in playing in Europe before, are all in the field now on the basis of their top-60-in-the-world exemption.

They need to top up their world ranking points – LIV Golf hasn’t been awarded world ranking status yet – but it must be mighty galling for some proper DP World Tour loyalists who miss out on the old European circuit’s showpiece amid this general tumult.

As for McIlroy’s views on the rebels pitching up in the leafy Surrey stockbroker belt? “I hate it, I really do,” said the Northern Irishman with his usual open and honest assessment of affairs. “It’s going to be hard for me to stomach going to Wentworth and seeing 18 of them there. That just doesn’t sit right with me.”

McIlroy has emerged as the statesman of the status quo. While gushing descriptions by some cooing observers of him being the savior of golf were somewhat hysterical in the aftermath of his timely win at East Lake, McIlroy’s box office appeal is the one thing money can’t buy. And LIV Golf certainly can’t buy his star attraction.

Of course, Cameron Tringale, a player who has earned upwards of $17 million on the PGA Tour but has never won in 338 events, recently decided to make the leap.

“After much reflection, prayer, and conversations with trusted advisors I have made the decision not to renew my Tour membership for next year and join LIV Golf,” wrote the deeply religious Tringale in a lengthy epistle of justification.

The Lord, it seems, will provide. Or at least the Saudi Public Investment Fund will. These are fascinating times.

While Lee Westwood and Eddie Pepperell were embroiling themselves in some tetchy parrying and jousting on social media — Pepperell told LIV rebel Westwood to “take your cake and enjoy it in the corner” — the PGA Tour top brass were unveiling a vast array of money-sodden, golden-handcuffs-style initiatives designed to keep the best players tied to the circuit and ensure the elite will play the elite on a more regular basis in a series of “elevated” events.

A few withering responses followed, with Westwood claiming the changes were nothing more than a replica of the LIV Golf formula. “It’s just a copy of what LIV is doing, there are a lot of hypocrites out there,” he said in an interview with Golf Digest. Any chance of some kind of compromise between the warring factions is about as likely as getting your bin emptied.

Are these changes by the PGA Tour too little too late? Well, they have certainly been wounded by a series of high-profile resignations and possibly underestimated the LIV Golf threat but it could be enough to lock the door before a few more horses bolt. Cameron Young, the rising star who was second in The Open, had been expected to jump ship, for instance, but the various carrots now being dangled by the PGA Tour have, apparently, convinced him to stay put.

Those aforementioned “elevated” tour events will be worth $20 million.

A LIV event is $25 million but it comes with the hefty price of reputational damage and the general scrutiny and condemnation that greets just about every defector. Now that the PGA Tour prize funds are kicking the backside of the LIV pots, those swithering may just decide it ain’t worth the hassle.

The fractured, disjointed scene at the top of a sport blinded by money remains a rather unedifying spectacle, though.

The players on either side of this divide are getting richer and richer but the game is poorer for all the squabbling and self-serving haverings. In this ongoing battle of attrition, it will be a while before a winner emerges.

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Report: LIV Golf members have been asked to not wear LIV logos at BMW PGA Championship

There are nearly 20 LIV members set to tee it up at Wentworth in September.

Eighteen members of the LIV Golf Series are set to tee it up at Wentworth next week for the BMW PGA Championship.

Although the DP World Tour and PGA Tour have an “operational joint venture partnership,” LIV players have not been banned from the European circuit as they have from the U.S. league.

Several of the PGA Tour’s biggest backers will also be playing the DP World Tour’s flagship event, including Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick.

“It’s going to be odd seeing certain people at Wentworth. That is going to be a bit weird, and obviously, it’s a little bit disappointing. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens,” Fitzpatrick said at the Tour Championship. “Obviously they’re (the DP World Tour) not quite in as strong a position as the PGA Tour are in terms of regulations. I guess we’ll just have to see how it plays out.”

According to a report by ESPN, LIV members have been asked by DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley to not wear LIV logos during the BMW tournament.

“Out of respect for our partners, our broadcasters and your fellow competitors, we would kindly ask you to consider not wearing LIV Golf-branded apparel during your participation at Wentworth,” Pelley said in an email memo sent to players.

They’ve also been alerted they’re not required to play in the pro-am.

“It’s going to be hard for me to stomach going to Wentworth in a couple of weeks’ time and seeing 18 of them there. That just doesn’t sit right with me,” McIlroy said at East Lake.

Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. And members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.

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Rory McIlroy to make Italian Open debut at Marco Simone, site of 2023 Ryder Cup

“I think when you win and when you do things, it energizes you more than anything else.”

Rory McIlroy just captured the PGA Tour’s 2022 Tour Championship, yet he’s not taking much time off.

McIlroy, who Sunday became the first golfer to win three FedEx Cups, will head across the pond and play three times in four weeks, including a stop at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome, which is hosting the 2023 Ryder Cup. The course is also hosting the 2022 Italian Open from Sept. 15-18, and McIlroy is slated to make his tournament debut.

“I have a whopping one week off coming up and then I go to Europe for three out of four weeks, playing quite a bit over there,” McIlroy said after winning in Atlanta on Sunday. “But maybe that’s a little less intense than what we’ve just been through the last three weeks in the Playoffs here.

“Again, I think when you win and when you do things, it energizes you more than anything else. It makes you want to do it more.”

McIlroy won three times during the Tour’s 2021-22 season, including a come-from-behind victory in the Tour Championship, and he finished in the top eight of all majors this calendar year.

Now, he’s heading to Europe, where in two weeks he’ll tee it up at Wentworth in the BMW PGA Championship on Sept. 8-11. He’s also set to play in the Alfred Dunhill Links, Sept. 29-Oct. 2.

McIlroy is also in position to win the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai, the season-long points race. He’s in first by more than 300 points. He has won the title three times but not since 2015.

“Look, it’s been a long few weeks and I’m looking forward to just chilling for a few days, but yeah, it gets you excited to get out there and play again because you’re playing well and you want to have this feeling more often,” McIlroy said.

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Hee Jeong Lim, Na Rin An set scoring record with 36-hole co-lead at BMW Ladies Championship

Co-leaders Hee Jeong Lim and Na Rin An, both winners on the KLPGA, are tied at 11-under 133 after 36 holes at the BMW Ladies Championship.

Danielle Kang is chasing closely at the BMW Ladies Championship, but the two women ahead of her already have knocked her name off the record books for the event at LPGA International Busan in South Korea. Co-leaders Hee Jeong Lim and Na Rin An, both winners on the KLPGA, are tied at 11-under 133 for 36 holes which is a new record score for the halfway point of this championship. Kang used to hold that record at 10 under, having reached that number after 36 holes of the inaugural event in 2019.

Remarkably, Lim hasn’t missed a fairway yet this week and is the only player in the field who doesn’t have a bogey on her card.

“I’m a player that needs to start off well. So I really focus on my first and second holes. And I think once you play well in your first two holes, then you’re at an ease for the following holes. So I think that worked well today,” said Lim, who finished the day with a 6-under 66. “And in terms of the course itself, I think we can get an opportunity to snatch many birdies here. So I tried to aim for that. So I tried to work on my shot.”

An, the first-round solo leader, had four birdies on her card in a second-round 69.

Both women remain in the running to set another record this week. Should any player from South Korea win, it would be the 200th LPGA victory for a South Korean player on tour. Two more women just down the leaderboard also remain in the running for that honor: two-time major champion In Gee Chun and former world No. 1 Jin Young Ko.

Ko’s streak of 14 consecutive rounds in the 60s came to an end in the first round, but she rebounded with authority by firing a bogey-free 8-under 64 on Friday.

“My friends and even my parents, you know, give me a lot of encouragement yesterday after my streak in the 60s came to an end,” Ko said. “And my mother was like, you know, oh, what is it that gives you such a hard time? Because I think that she felt so bad. She felt like I wasn’t enjoying the game and the tournament. But that wasn’t the case. But I feel like my mother knew me better than myself.”

As for Kang, who won the Buick LPGA Shanghai on the tour’s Asian Swing in 2018 and 2019, rounds of 66-68 have her in a tie for third with Chun, one shot behind the leaders. She credits part of her good play this week to swing coach Butch Harmon.

“I’ve been working on a lot of good things,” she said. “And I called Butch my fairy godfather today because he waved the wand and fixed something that I’ve been working on for a while. Guess it was more — there was a couple technical stuff that we discussed. I think it’s being open about what’s bothering you, how you felt on certain putts and shots.”

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Shane Lowry may be playing his way onto the European Ryder Cup team at this week’s BMW PGA Championship

The 2019 champion golfer of the year is on the verge of his first Ryder Cup appearance

Shane Lowry is a two-time PGA Tour winner. He’s won thrice on the European Tour. He was the Champion Golfer of the Year in 2019, winning the British Open in his home country. And this past July, Lowry represented Ireland at the 2020 Olympic Games. But now, he may be playing his way onto the European Ryder Cup team for the very first time.

He’s found this position after one of his best years on the PGA Tour. He finished inside the top 10 at some of the year’s biggest events including the Players, Memorial, and PGA Championship. But at this week’s BMW PGA Championship, he still needs some things to go his way to automatically qualify.

The European team is decided by multiple points lists, the first being the European Tour points list, and then the World points lists. Four players automatically qualify according to the European Tour list, and five more from the World list. As it stands right now, Lowry is sitting in the ninth and final automatic qualifying spot.

If Bernd Wiesberger finishes inside the top 50 at the BMW PGA, he will move into the fourth spot on the European Tour points list, kicking Rory McIlroy out. McIlroy will then fall into the World points list, removing Lowry from his automatic qualifying spot. To stay put, Lowry will need a top-eight finish or better.

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After the third round of the BMW PGA Championship, Lowry and Bernd Wiesberger both sit at 11 under, tied for seventh and four shots behind leader Francesco Laporta.

The Irishman followed a similar pattern to the previous two days at Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey, England, as he posted birdies on Nos. 2, 4, 8 and 18 while dropping his only shot on No. 15.

But Lowry wasn’t exactly focused on the Ryder Cup after his round:

Regardless of what happens with automatic qualification, Lowry is a solid bet to represent the European side. He’s been one of the most consistent players all season long, making the cut 19 times in 21 events on Tour. This will leave captain Harrington with a tough decision having to leave off Ryder Cup veterans. Some of the names that may miss the team — Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter.

Tune in Sunday morning on Golf Channel for the final round of the BMW PGA Championship and watch the drama unfold.

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Meet the first five qualifiers that will represent Team Europe at the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits

Three years after their decisive win in Paris, Europe now has their first five members of the 2021 Ryder Cup team.

The first six players of the United States Ryder Cup team were confirmed over a week ago, but now, it’s the European side who sees their team finally start to take shape. Padraig Harrington, captain of this year’s European team, has to be excited about the talent confirmed to be on the roster.

Although the final qualifying doesn’t end until the last putt drops at the BMW PGA Championship, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood, and first-time participant Viktor Hovland have already secured their spots.

Four more players will automatically qualify for the team after the BMW, and then Harrington will make three captain’s picks to complete the team.

Let’s meet the first five, starting with the number one golfer in the world.

Ryder Cup: Get to know Team USA

Tyrrell Hatton lives childhood dream at BMW PGA Championship

Tyrrell Hatton won the BMW PGA Championship title on Sunday, which is also his third Rolex Series win.

Tyrrell Hatton’s bucket list just got shorter.

Hatton secured his first BMW PGA Championship title on Sunday, which is also his third Rolex Series win. The Englishman once visited Wentworth Golf Club as a five-year old boy with his father, sparking a boyhood dream of one day winning the European Tour’s flagship event. Now 28 years of age, the dream has become reality.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Hatton. “This was a goal of mine, to win this tournament in my career, and part of me is sad that I didn’t get to experience the crowds and stuff with the grandstands, but it’s just amazing to win this trophy.”

Hatton admits he struggled with his rhythm during the round. “It’s probably the worst I’ve swung the club the past four days,” he said. Despite that, the five-time international winner fired six birdies en route to a 5-under par 67 — the only blemish on his scorecard was a bogey at the 13th.

The end result? A 19-under par performance at Wentworth and a decisive four-stroke lead on the field. Nerves or not, Hatton showed his ability to finish strong this week, birdying the final hole in all four rounds.

It wasn’t easy for him, though. Victor Perez put the heat on Hatton with a blistering front nine that included two birdies and an eagle at the par-5 fourth. Yet, the Frenchman ultimately stalled out, with bogeys at No. 13 and No. 17 relegating him to second. Perez finished with a 68, scoring 15 under on the week.

2018 Masters champ Patrick Reed found himself T-3 at 14 under with England’s Andy Sullivan. Reed bogeyed No. 5 and No. 15 but made up for it with four birdies and a closing eagle to card 68 for the third day in a row.

Sullivan, 33, put together his best round of the tournament by four strokes. His front nine was even better than Perez’s, with four birdies and an eagle on No. 4, while his back nine included three birdies and a bogey. The resulting 7-under 65 launched Sullivan 10 spots up the leaderboard.

Joachim B. Hansen, the Dane with whom Perez had been tied at second after round three, dropped to seventh place after he could manage no better than an even-par 72. Other U.K. favorites Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and David Horsey plummeted nine spots to T-13 after they each carded a disappointing 73.

The day belongs to Hatton, who entered the week 20th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. He has since ascended to seventh in the Race to Dubai and cracked the OWGR top 10 for the first time in his career. Hatton, who shared a heartwarming post-round moment with his parents over video chat, is keeping everything in perspective.

“The European Tour’s done a great job,” he said. “We’re all very thankful to be able to play golf during these tough times, and I’m delighted that I can be their champion this week.”

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Tyrrell Hatton in charge at BMW PGA Championship after three rounds

Tyrrell Hatton’s third-round 69 keeps him three shots ahead of the field at the BMW PGA Championship, the European Tour’s flagship event.

With one round to go at the BMW PGA Championship, Tyrrell Hatton is poised for a breakthrough on home soil.

Hatton went 3-under par on Saturday at the Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey, England. His third-round 69 keeps him at 14 under, three shots ahead of the field. The 28-year old has been impressive so far at the European Tour’s flagship event, firing 66 and 67 in the first and second rounds, respectively.

With four international trophies and a PGA Tour win at the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational, Hatton had to deal with two bogeys on the day: one at the third and another at the 15th. He salvaged his scorecard with three birdies and an eagle at the par-5 12th. A victory on Sunday would represent Hatton’s third Rolex Series win — his first two came at the 2017 Italian Open and last season’s Turkish Airlines Open.

“I’ve said earlier in the week it’s been a goal of mine to hopefully win this tournament,” spoke Hatton, who once attended the BMW PGA Championship as a 5-year-old fan with his father. “You can’t win it on Saturday and there are still 18 holes to go. I have to try and not get too far ahead of myself.

“I can take confidence from the fact that I’ve won on Tour before and I’ve just got to go out there and try and control myself, hopefully play well like I have been the past three days and just see what happens.”

BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP: Leaderboard

Currently T-2 at 11 under are Victor Perez of France and Joachim B. Hansen of Denmark. Perez, 28, had a forgettable front nine with three bogeys against two birdies. He waited until the last moment to right the ship, cashing in an eagle at the par-5 18th for a 2-under 70.

Hansen, 30, had two bogeys of his own along with four birdies. He also carded 2 under on the day, which could have been 3 under had he not barely missed an eagle putt attempt on the final hole.

“To me, it looked like it rolled over the hole,” Hansen said of his missed opportunity. “I just needed a bit more speed, then it would have gone in.”

Four men are currently T-4 at 10 under: Shane Lowry (Ireland), David Horsey (England), Tommy Fleetwood (England) and Patrick Reed (United States). Lowry, 33, has been Jekyll and Hyde over the past two days — he followed up a sensational second-round 65 with a double bogey on the ninth and two bogeys on the last three holes, causing his third-round score to balloon to 74.

Meanwhile, the 35-year old Horsey put together his best round of the tournament so far: a 5-under 67. His two bogeys were more than offset by seven birdies, five of them coming on the back nine.

Fan favorite Fleetwood, who has six international wins to date, is also trending up with his own 5 under effort. The 29-year old has rebounded from an opening-round 71, carding six birdies against just one bogey on the day.

“You just have to keep playing all the time,” said Fleetwood. “That’s your job and that’s all you can ever do.

“I’m not that far off. Hopefully it’s a good message to the kids, just keep going because you never know what’s going to happen in golf.”

Reed is the most decorated golfer in the field, with eight PGA Tour victories (including one at the 2018 Masters). He has yet to win abroad, but currently leads the Race to Dubai. The only man to go bogey-free on Saturday, Reed notched two birdies and an eagle on the 18th for a round of 68.

“Making the putt on the last definitely made it a lot more satisfying because a lot of things that I’ve been trying to fix or tweak in my golf swing really paid off today and I felt like I hit the ball where I needed to on most of the holes,” said Reed.

The final round of the BMW PGA Championship takes place on Sunday. Golf Channel’s coverage will run from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET.

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