The first day of the BMW PGA Championship is underway at Wentworth, in the best sense of the word, so the tournament is already mouth-watering. There are still many matches on the course (the last ones to go out did so after three in the afternoon, Spanish peninsular time), but there is already a lot to tell and point out.
For example, the provisional leader, with the card already signed, is Niklas Norggard (-6), nothing that surprises too much, as the Dane is in eighth position in the Race to Dubai in the season in which he has made a decided leap to the front line of high competition golf. But just one stroke behind the Nordic player is already a pack of very interesting players. Surely several of them will be fighting for victory in the last nine holes on Sunday. On the one hand there are Ugo Coussaud (-5) and Victor Perez (-5), a faithful reflection of the joyful moment of French golf in 2024. On the other hand, we have Rory McIlroy (-5), Shane Lowry (-5), Robert MacIntyre (-5) and Matteo Manassero (-5). If these are not clear candidates, who are?
For now, we are going to stick with McIlroy and the amazing tour he has given us through Roryland, the uncertain place where almost anything can happen, but much more good than bad. This magical and virtual kingdom has shown us its maximum expression on hole 12, of course. In this par 5 of the West course of Wentworth Rory hit a drive of over three hundred meters to the center of the fairway, something that is not unusual in Roryland. Then, he left a great eagle option of just two meters, with the peculiarity that, immediately after hitting the ball with his iron (it would be the 8 surely), the head of the club detached and flew about sixty meters forward, to the astonishment of everyone, but especially the player. This only happens in Roryland: vertigo hit and rickety club, all happening in the same millisecond…
Anyway, before that he had been very close to holing for eagle on hole 4, par 5, with a precise approach from the semi rough. He had also missed a half-meter putt, no more, to save par on hole 7. Then, on 13, he would sink a delicious putt from about twelve meters… And there was still the finish of the 18, the last par 5 of the course, to complete the visit. There, with the ball perfectly placed in the center of the fairway, he sent it out of bounds, to the right, with the second shot. Minutes later, he was about to save par by holing with a chip full of aim, but the ball hit the flag and stayed for bogey… Blessed Roryland.
At the time of editing this provisional chronicle only two Spanish players had finished the round and none of them appear in the hot zone of the table: Nacho Elvira (PAR) and Jorge Campillo (+1).
