Rory McIlroy falters after strong start as Aaron Rai leads at Wentworth
Rory McIlroy got off to a flying start in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf Club but his round unravelled to leave fellow major champion Aaron Rai as the joint first-round leader.
The Northern Irishman was five under through 10 holes and in the outright lead before some waywardness off the tee proved costly coming home, making three bogeys over his final six.
US PGA champion Rai, playing alongside the Masters winner and Open champion Ryan Fox in the marquee group which finished a combined 13 under par, was typically more solid.
He also had five birdies in his first 10 holes, with one bogey, and two more coming home saw him post a six-under 66, three better than McIlroy and two ahead of Fox.
McIlroy, who covered the course in 60 in Wednesday’s pro-am, is trying to reel in Patrick Reed to win a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title and he looked like he was intent on making a statement with the American out in the group in front.
Starting at the ninth, all but one of his first five birdies came from inside two and a half feet, a 20-footer at the par-five 12th the exception, with three in a row from the 16th from a combined five feet five inches.
He left an eagle attempt frustratingly short at the 17th and another for birdie at the second but from there things started to go awry.
McIlroy bogeyed the third and sixth, but a good recovery at the fourth saw him make birdie and he salvaged par at the seventh.
However, from deep rough after another poor drive at the eighth he hacked into the pond guarding the green and dropped his third shot of the day to finish with a three-under 69.
Rai drove into the same pond at the eighth but chipped up to save par. He was later joined on six under by Swede Joakim Lagergren, whose round contained an eagle at the 12th.
Reed had briefly held a share of the lead with a fifth birdie before he too fell foul of the 395-yard par-four eighth to finish in the group on four under, which also included Fox and Viktor Hovland.
“Started very strong, five-under through 10, and started hitting a few loose shots on the way in,” said McIlroy.
“It started to get a little tricky there at the end, the wind was gusty, but I played well. I certainly saw some improvements on the greens compared to last week.
“It felt like I could have been a couple better at least but I think it’s going to play pretty tricky this afternoon so 69 isn’t a bad score to start with.”
Reed, who is bidding to become only the second American after Collin Morikawa to win the Race to Dubai, said: “It would mean a lot. I’ve always prided myself as being an American that consistently comes over and shows support to this tour.
“It’s definitely in the back of my mind, but at the end of the day (I’ve got to) just go out there and take care of business each and every day.”
The afternoon starters fared much worse, with two-time major winner Jon Rahm already struggling to make the cut after five bogeys and a double.
His six-over round of 78 left him just one behind last man Marcel Siem, while playing partners Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood were slightly better as they both finished one over.
