Tommy Fleetwood is looking to go one better than his runner’s up finish in the Scottish Open. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

TOMMY Fleetwood is hoping to convert his strong run of form on the European Tour into a third Rolex Series title with a victory on home soil in this week’s BMW PGA Championship, at Wentworth.

The Southport golfer finished tied third in the Portugal Masters prior to last month’s US Open.

He then lost to Aaron Rai in a play-off in last week’s Rolex Series event, at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open.

That latter result at North Berwick’s Renaissance Club lifted him into third place in the Race to Dubai.

And the 2017 European No. 1 believes another strong performance at Surrey’s famous Burma Road course at Wentworth can bolster his chances of claiming that honour for a second time.

Tommy Fleetwood said: “My game is in good shape, I feel good, so looking forward to getting going.

“It is always lovely coming back to this one. I think normally with it comes the atmosphere of home fans and I always think it’s one of the best ones to play in front of.

“I think the first tee is always a really nice feeling when you walk to the first tee, and how much they support you.

“The 18th is always a great finish. It’s different. We have had some bad weather in the past, so not really a time of year that makes a difference.

“The course seems to be playing quite different. But it is lovely – great hotel, English, parkland course. Still lots of good with it.

Best moment? Race to Dubai win. . .

TOMMY Fleetwood said victory in the Race to Dubai three years ago was the standout achievement for the Lancastrian, who won the English Amateur Championship at Little Aston 10 years ago.

“It’s still my proudest thing in golf winning the Race to Dubai – for playing over a whole year and finishing the highest in that ranking.

“Having the Race to Dubai in the bag – knowing a good week can shoot you up there again – is always something lovely.

“I think it’s an amazing achievement. To be around and have another chance this year is great. But the focus is on this week for now.”

“I’ll be lucky, I’ve had that for the last two or three years. But it’s been nice knowing you have a good week and see yourself right up there in the Race to Dubai.

“It’s always nice to have in the background. I think a lot of times when we play a world tour, you go week-to-week and that’s the right thing to do.

“Played really well in Scotland and had things to work on which is always great.

“Keeps you hungry, and it’s just a nice two or three-week stretch again in the UK events that players love coming to.

Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed is happy to support the European Tour by playing in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

Reed continues European adventure

JOINING World No. 14 Tommy Fleetwood in the field is current Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed.

The controversial American has made a special trip over from the States to strengthen his own chances of winning the season-long contest.

The World No. 9 was runner-up to Francesco Molinari in 2018. Reed finished tied fourth on his debut in the BMW PGA Championship last year.

And the 2018 Masters winner will tee it up in the first two rounds alongside European Ryder Cup players Lee Westwood and Tyrrell Hatton.

Meanwhile Tommy Fleetwood will be joined by defending champion Danny Willett – the Masters winner in 2016 – and 2019 Open Champion Shane Lowry.

Reed has had to endure the scrutiny over accusations about an incident over allegedly improving his lie in a bunker in the States last year.

But any criticism seems to have left the Texan unfazed and his eyes are firmly on the prize.

Reed said: “It definitely was motivated by winning the Race to Dubai,” when asked about his keen-ness to travel across the Atlantic for another tilt at Wentworth’s West Course.

“When you’re in the lead, being able to come over is always nice to try to stay on top,” he said.

Captain America supports European Tour

“It was a long decision and it’s one of those that at the end of the day, every time we thought about it, we’ve always supported the European Tour,” said the player nicknamed Captain America after his exploits in the 2016 Ryder Cup.

“We’ve always enjoyed coming over and playing on the European Tour,” said the winner of eight PGA Tour events including the Green Jacket two years ago and the WGC-Mexico Championship, in Februrary.

“Being a lifetime member of the Tour, it was something that I had to come over and play,” said Reed.

“It’s the event, the venue, and supporting the European Tour. The biggest thing for me is it’s their biggest event, and for what the European Tour has done for me, I felt like I had to be here. I had to support.

“And I was going to figure out a way – and my team was going to figure out a way – for me to be able to come over to show that support, considering what they’ve done for me, and especially during times like this where everyone is struggling.

“I see myself as a guy who travels, a guy who plays worldwide, who tries to better my game and figure out not only different cultures, different grasses, different time zones, try to become a more well-rounded golfer.

“And the only way I’m going to do that is by playing on the European Tour and playing around the world.”

Justin Rose will be looking to defend his Olympic title in Japan in 2021. Picture by IGF

Why Rose is ready to come home . . .

OLYMPIC champion Justin Rose is also in action on home soil as part of an all-English three-ball alongside Ryder Cup teammate and long-time friend Ian Poulter.

The latter has been instrumental in guiding the career of rising star Sam Horsfield.

The Manchester-born youngster, who spent most of his youth based in Florida, became a two-time winner during the European Tour’s first UK Swing this summer.

The 23-year-old makes up the group with his mentor Poulter and Rose, who has been working hard to overcome a quiet spell in the States.

Rose, who will have to wait another year to defend that Olympic title after the 2020 Olympics in Japan were postponed for a year, is glad to be back in the UK.

And Rose revealed this week his family are in the processs of relocating from the Bahamas back to the UK to be close to his mum Annie and so his children can be educated in the UK.

The 40-year-old who came through the Hampshire junior ranks in the mid 1990s, said: “It’s great to be home, lovely autumnal feel at the moment.

“Been a crazy year, and obviously first opportunity to really get back and play something on the European Tour.

“To catch up with everybody, first-time experience of the European Tour bubble – I’m excited about playing golf.

“This is for me, the BMW PGA Championship, what I’ve always called a bucket-list tournament.”

Justin swings towards taking ownership

ROSE has also struck out on his own looking after his swing without a full-time coach, having worked in the past with David Leadbetter and Sean Foley.

Justin revealed: “I think ultimately, the decision was, I turned 40 this year and maybe I was fully grown-up – and ready to do more by myself. And not have so much hand-holding.

“I still have Sean Foley around me, who I can consult with if I have a question. That’s the way I treat it.

“If I have a question, go to someone and get the relevant answer – but to take a little bit more ownership myself.

“Hasn’t worked out yet. But these things don’t always happen immediately,” said Rose, who did finish ninth in the USPGA at San Francisco’s Harding Park, in August.

“The last couple of days have actually clicked into a couple days of what I call growth,” he added.

“There’s some light-bulb moments and it’s a blend of some of the new things I’ve learned along the way and some of the old blueprints under Sean.

“I feel like I’m piecing all that together and also body-wise, being able to drill it and groove it in.

“You always see results on the range before you see it on the golf course. But like I said earlier, I feel positive and motivated at the moment.

“I’m enjoying my golf and my practise, so you can only hope that does lead to good stuff eventually.”

The 2020 BMW PGA will have no crowds for the first time as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

No Wentworth crowds in COVID age

ALL the players have been getting used to playing without crowds since March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wentworth normally has crowds of 30,000 every day regardless of wehter the BMW PGA was played in its traditional date in May, or in the new September slot it was given last year after the USPGA moved to May.

Danny Willett was happy to reflect on his win 12 months ago with his defence coming in October as the European date tweaked the date to avoid the clash with the rearragned US Open.

Willett said: “There was lots of good, great moments within that round.

“But you know, coming down the last couple in that position, finishing birdie, birdie, closing out the way we did, just coming up the last with actually being able to enjoy that 200-yard walk up the last with all the family and friends there and crowds there.

“It’s a pretty spectacular backdrop usually on the 18th come Sunday. Memorable moments, and yeah, could be a bit different this weekend – but hopefully same scenario.

“It’s always nice to come back here. Obviously unusual to past years where it’s been incredibly busy and great home support being English.

“Game has not been in an amazing place – so nice to be back here and get a few nice vibes of obviously how things went last year.

“Working hard and see if we can get a little bit of form back and put up a little bit of a fight this week.

•To follow Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose in the first round click here for live scoring.

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Danny Willett recorded his first professional win on UK soil beating Jon Rahm in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

DANNY Willett claimed his second Rolex Series title in successive seasons as the Englishman overcame Jon Rahm in stunning fashion to win the BMW PGA Championship title – his first victory on home soil.

The former Masters champion was locked in a tense battle with the determined Spaniard all weekend at Wentworth Club as Rahm sought to join his hero Seve Ballesteros as a winner on the West Course.

And there were turning points aplenty for the 21,962 fans in attendance – but none more so than at the 11^th.

Having entered the final round tied for the lead, Willett had pulled two clear through 10 holes courtesy of four birdies – to Rahm’s two.

But the fomer World Amateur No. 1 found himself in some trouble with his second and third shots at the par four 11^th, leaving himself with a monster putt for bogey.

He duly drained it for a five, though, with one of his many masterful escapes during the week on the Burma Road course.

And thereafter the wind was taken from Rahm’s sails – the 24-year-old bogeyed two of the following three holes with a birdie in between.

Willett, who won the final Rolex Series event of the 2018 season – the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai – closed out a deserved three-stroke victory with birdies at the two closing par fives to card a five-under 67 and a 20-under total.

Willett said: “I’ve watched this tournament for a lot of years. You know, through the Match Play and then obviously the BMW PGA Championship.

“It’s always nice to be able to compete on home soil. I’ve had a couple looks at The Open a couple of times, but to be able to win finally on such an iconic golf course, with I think one of the best fields they have had.

“The last kind of eight or 10 months with a couple of wins in the Rolex Series Events – it’s really put things right in my own mind, which is nice.

“You know Jon is going to be sticking around all day. I obviously got off to a quick start and 11 was a real big point in the golf tournament.

“I’ve watched a lot of the golf on TV and the people that win every week are not the guys that hit every fairway and hit everything to six feet.

“Certain things happen through the week. And one of those moments might happen on a Sunday, might happen on a Thursday or a Friday,” said the golfer who played as a junior at Rotherham GC.

“But for it to happen on Sunday early on in the back nine was crucial just to keep my nose in front really – just to give me that little bit of breathing room down them last six holes.

“Any tournament win is amazing. That’s now my seventh win on Tour, and every single time I’ve won, they have been pretty stellar events against pretty stellar fields and the Ryder Cup stuff.

Willett, whose Ryder Cup debut at Hazeltine in 2016 was overshadowed by comments made by his brother about the Amercian team, said: “It’s the first event of what, 40-odd (qualification events), whatever it’s going to be, for a year’s time when it’s back in America, Whistling Straits.”

The Yorkshireman, who won the English Amateur in 2009 before turning pro, moved to ninth in the Race to Dubai rankings.

Rahm – who was also a former No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings – had gone for broke on the final hole by going for the green with a second shot which ended up in the water.

But the Arizona State University graduate bravely got up and down and signed for a final round 70 and a 17-under total.

Rahm said: “I’m not going to lie. It hurts. It stings. I played good all week, and up until the 13th hole, I was incapable of hitting an iron close to the pin and made a couple stupid mistakes.

“I should have come closer than two shots on the last two holes. I had my chances.

“Again, I did what I had to do. Just had a couple of really stupid mistakes there. I’m just going to have to figure out why it happened and that’s it.

“At the same time, Danny played amazing golf. He played really, really good. I believe that 11th hole was the key moment of the match.

“He had a long, long putt for bogey and I had a decent look for a birdie, and he makes a bomb for a bogey and I missed my putt right,” said the Irish Open winner.

“That was at least a one-shot swing right there and if he doesn’t make it, I’m putting more relaxed without the whole crowd going crazy.

“That was a key moment of the match,” added Rahm, who has won three Rolex events in his four European Tour victories.

South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout earned his best result in a Rolex Series event as he took outright third spot with a 16-under total, after closing out the week with a four under 68.

America’s Wentworth debutants – Billy Horschel and Patrick Reed – shared fourth spot while home hero Justin Rose took outright eighth spot.

Four-time Major winner Rory McIlroy, who shot 76 on Thursday, shared ninth spot with Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston, the former Middlesex amateur, who was also a member at Wentworth for a while before turning pro.

For full results click here.

The post Willett wonder-putt sets up first UK win at Wentworth in BMW PGA and second Rolex appeared first on Golf North.

Moor Park’s Matt Wallace wowed the Wentworth crowd with a brilliant seven-under 65 around the West Course in the BMW PGA Championship first round. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

MATT Wallace delighted the Wentworth crowd in the opening round of the BMW PGA Championship, as the 29-year-old carded a flawless seven-under 65 to move into a one-stroke lead.

The sun blazed down upon the pristine Wentworth Club as the prestigious championship – ushering in a new era as it moved date from May to September – welcomed a total of 19,612 fans.

Wallace, from Hertfordshire’s Moor Park Golf Club, who won three of his four European Tour titles in 2018 – but is yet to win this year – was the star of the show, on Thursday.

He opened with a birdie three at the first before a stunning eagle-birdie-birdie run from the fourth hole saw him reach the turn in five-under.

Wallace, who started life as a junior at Batchworth Park, not from the Ricksmanworth club he now represents as a tour pro, said: “I’m very happy.

“Whenever you can get off to a start like that, it boosts your confidence and I’m just going on from last week really.

“I said to my caddie Smarty when we were walking to the first tee, let’s keep the same focus as how we ended last week – just carry it on,” added Wallace, who has Jonathan Smart – the caddy who was on Danny Willett’s bag when he won Green Jacket at the 2016 Augusta Masters – on the bag after a public spat that led to Matt’s break-up with Dave McNeilly last month.

“It’s very nice and pleasing to shoot that around here,” said Wallace. “I’m always grinding, working on trying to figure it out and get better.

“It’s the biggest event for me now, my home event. I’ve played the course plenty of times before coming into this week, and I feel comfortable.

“It always helps when your game’s in shape, as well.”

The Londoner cruised home with a couple more birdies to move to the top, ahead of Spain’s Jon Rahm and Swede Henrik Stenson on six-under, while their 2018 Ryder Cup-winning team-mate Justin Rose, was a shot further back after a five-under 67.

Hampshire ace Rose, who grew up just down the A30 at Hook, and would race home from watching the PGA at Wentworth to practice at his North Hants GC in the 1990s, was pleased to be back home with the new September slot.

Rose said: “It’s brilliant. It’s such a bonus with the weather, as well.

“Everyone is enjoying being outside. It’s almost nicer than summer. It’s got that nice crispness in the air as well, and the golf course – I’ve never seen it better.

“I think it’s really settled after all the changes through the years they have made, I think they have found their feet.

“My short game was I think what kept me in it. A couple of key saves when I missed the greens, I kept my up-and-downs going and played the par -fives well.”

Three-time Rolex winner Rahm, who was striking the ball superbly in practice, said: “I enjoy the Rolex Series events.

“I really don’t know what it is, if it’s coincidence or just the quality of people and players out here that make me want to play better,” said the Spaniard who claimed his third Rolex when winning the Irish Open in July.

“But at the same time, it’s also the history of those events in a place like this – there’s a lot of golf history and it’s really fun to be around.

“You need to pick your battles on this course. You definitely need to be swinging good. Any little mistake you’re going to pay for it.”

Stenson has posted several good finishes around the West Course without getting his hands on the big prize, said: “The greens are probably as good as I’ve ever seen them.

“So it’s been good for the golf course and the conditions to move into a later date, no question.

“It’s always hit and miss in May in mainland Europe to have perfect conditions. The guys have done a great job with the course, the greens are very nice.

“Looking back at my career, I don’t think I’ve been having too many wins and too many really good finishes when I haven’t started with a decent round or better. It sets up the week nicely and I just hope I can continue with that.”

Defending champion Francesco Molinari was also happy to be back in Surrey’s Virginia Water on the Burma Road.

“It’s been a great feeling coming back because it’s the tournament that kind of kick-started my great run last year.

“You come back here and you feel how different the last few months has been. It’s been more than a year, as well, so it’s been quite a long time.

“It was maybe more up-and-down than I would like but I managed to fight hard and the short game was good enough to keep me in the round – and nice birdie to finish at the last.”

•For live scoring from the second round at Wentworth click here.

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