Jon Rahm will return this September to one of the venues that has historically suited his game best. The DP World Tour confirmed on Tuesday the participation of the Barrika-born golfer in the BMW PGA Championship, which will be played from 17 to 20 September on the West Course at the Wentworth Club in Surrey.
It will be Rahm’s fifth appearance at the tournament and he will arrive with one clear unfinished business: to win a title he has come close to on two occasions and in which he has yet to record a poor result.
His four previous appearances have produced two runner-up finishes, in 2019 and 2022; a fourth place, in 2023; and the tied thirteenth place achieved last season. In other words, four visits, four top-13s, three results inside the top four and two Sundays in which he finished knocking loudly on the door of victory.
Few players present such a record at Wentworth without having still to lift the trophy.
“I’ve been close a couple of times at the BMW PGA Championship, so it’s definitely a tournament and a venue I like to return to,” Rahm said in comments released by the DP World Tour.
“Everything around the tournament, from the fans to the event’s history, makes it a special week. I’d love to take one more step and lift the trophy this year,” added the Spaniard.
Two runner-up finishes and two very different stories
Rahm’s first big chance came in 2019, in his debut at the BMW PGA Championship. He finished runner-up behind Danny Willett and confirmed from the outset that the West Course’s design suited his characteristics perfectly.
Three years later he again fell at the final hurdle. Rahm posted an extraordinary final round of 62 to reach -16, but Shane Lowry finished on -17 in an edition reduced to 54 holes. The Spaniard then shared second place with Rory McIlroy.
In 2023 he was again in contention and finished fourth, while in his most recent appearance he maintained his run of top-13 finishes.
Rahm will now look to complete the set with a victory. The former World No. 1 has amassed ten DP World Tour titles, five of them Rolex Series events, and also knows what it’s like to finish a season as the winner of the Race to Dubai.
Wentworth, however, remains one of the big prizes on the European circuit still missing from his record.
A line-up packed with European stars
Rahm’s inclusion strengthens an exceptionally strong line-up with a clear presence of the leading European names of recent years.
Among the confirmed players is Rory McIlroy, a career Grand Slam winner, as well as major champions Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry and Justin Rose.
Also among those expected are other Rolex Series winners such as Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland and Robert MacIntyre, along with Ludvig Åberg and Sepp Straka, both winners on the DP World Tour and the PGA TOUR.
The entry list will also include several former BMW PGA Championship champions. Luke Donald, European captain in the last two editions of the Ryder Cup, will return to the West Course alongside recent Open winner Ryan Fox, two-time champion Billy Horschel and the defending champion, Alex Noren.
They are joined by two of England’s leading figures at the moment: Aaron Rai, recent winner of his first major, and Marco Penge, a three-time winner on the DP World Tour.
Rahm will therefore face a field befitting one of the season’s major events and will meet numerous teammates and rivals from recent European Ryder Cup teams.
More than 115,000 spectators expected
The organisers expect to exceed 115,000 spectators again after the record attendance registered at the last edition.
General admission tickets for Saturday are already sold out, while few places remain available for Friday and Sunday. For Friday, all hospitality and premium experience options have also sold out.
The programme will once again present the tournament as a genuine Golf Festival, with the traditional celebrity Pro‑Am, musical performances and activities in the spectator area. The Kooks and Ella Eyre will be the main artists of the weekend on the Amazon Leo Live Stage.
All of this will accompany a tournament that already brings together much of Europe’s star power and to which Rahm returns with a very clear ambition.
Wentworth has provided him with four great performances, two runner-up finishes and several opportunities to win. In September he will seek to add the only missing piece: the trophy
