– The first day of the BMW PGA Championship couldn’t be completed due to lack of light, caused by a delay from a lightning storm that forced a suspension. There are 24 players left to finish, but we have two solid leaders, the young Frenchman Tom Vaillant (-8) and the Swede Ludvig Aberg (-8), who initially dispels any doubts that might have been left by his play in recent appearances, not terrible by any means, but perhaps lacking a bit of edge. It seems inevitable, as seen, to read this tournament with a Ryder perspective, and the Swede is expected to be a pillar of the European team at Bethpage.
– Vaillant’s performance has been emphatic: he has made ten birdies and barely putted from beyond three metres. A powerhouse with irons and wedges. He arrived at the event ranked 124th in the Race to Dubai and we’ll see if he doesn’t sort everything out this week. He’s on the right path, but there’s a long way to go.
– Pablo Larrazábal (-4) hasn’t been able to finish his round and still has the two par 5s at the end, holes 17 and 18, to play, so it’s reasonable to think he might get a bit closer to the top. The Barcelona native, after getting married this summer and taking a long and well-deserved competitive break, reappeared last week in Ireland, where he missed the cut, but he has the chance to sign one of his best rounds of the year and return to his famous ‘scares’, regularly appearing at the top of the leaderboard and grabbing the spotlight. Today, it took him a while to consistently hit greens in regulation, but he minimised the damage with his proverbial skill, and once he adjusted a bit, he improved his score. For now, Pablo is the best Spaniard in this high-flying event.
– Jon Rahm (-1) just about finished his round, saving a good par on the 18th after going into the water. Nonetheless, the man from Barrika will have little to complain about with the result on a very tough day, where he was only really seen in action in the last third. Earlier, he missed some short putts that compromised the result, but also some second shots, and he really looked uncomfortable. On the 13th hole, the ball moved after he grounded his club, and after being penalised a stroke, he saved par by sinking a ten-metre putt… From there, a bit like the geniuses, the outlook changed slightly, with or without blunders along the way, which there were. On the 15th hole, for example, he holed out for birdie from the sand after a poor tee shot and missing the second shot to the bunker. It is understood, given his abilities, that from here things can only get better, and he managed a below-par result on a lacklustre day.
– The poor form of Brooks Koepka (+3) is striking. Last week he missed the cut by a wide margin in Ireland, and today he hasn’t improved much at Wentworth. He looks dispirited on the course. Today, before abruptly finishing with a bogey on the 15th, a double bogey on the 16th, and another bogey on the 18th, he had left several short and mid-range opportunities on the course. So, dispirited.
– The Ryder perspective shows us almost half of the European team within the top ten of the tournament, which is not bad at all. Aberg (-8), Fitzpatrick (-6), Rose (-5), Hovland (-5), and Lowry (-5). Additionally, we can always count on McIlroy (-3) for the weekend, of that we have no doubt. And with Hatton (-3). The balance, therefore, is positive, although it counts for little or nothing for Bethpage. Nor should the poor start of the only guy debuting in the Ryder for the continental team, Rasmus Hojgaard (+2), who also finished with a crazy eagle on the 18th, chipping the ball into the hole with an absolutely uncontrolled shot that hit the edge of the creek. At least he took that joy, and tomorrow will be another day.
