The DP World Tour’s flagship event has yet again attracted one of the best fields of the year with 11 of Europe’s Ryder Cup performers teeing it up alongside a host of PGA Tour visitors and the cream of the DP World Tour.
Day 1 on the West Course at Wentworth was derailed by changeable weather that was one minute warm and sunny, the next minute blustery and grey, with a 90 minute delay in early afternoon prompted by the threat of lightning.
A few players are yet to complete their first round, but a strong picture has emerged.
France’s Tom Vaillant and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg lead after carding 8-under-par 64s while the pre-tournament co-favourites started slowly but not disastrously: Rory McIlroy shot 69 and Jon Rahm limped to a 71.
Let’s take a look at the early winners and losers.
Winners
Matt Fitzpatrick
The Englishman knocked his tee shot at 18 into the trees on the right whereupon the hooter went to stop play because of that threat of lightning.
His caddie suggested marking the ball, but trouble had already emerged in the shape of two youngsters who were seen fleeing the area – and there was no ball to be found.
Witnesses helped Fitzpatrick who was able to take a drop and he admitted that, although he made a bogey when play resumed, it might have saved him a shot. He signed for a 66 and is bang in contention as he looks for a pre-Ryder Cup boost.
Ludvig Aberg
The silky smooth Swede is playing this championship for just the second time and he already has a very fine record. Two years ago he carded 68-66-66 to hold a two-shot 54-hole lead before a Sunday 76 left him in a share of tenth. This year he opened with a bogey but responded with nine birdies to grab that share of the overnight lead.
Brandon Robinson Thompson
The Isle of Wight golfer earned cult status at the 2023 Open with his fans christened the Sauce Army. Before then, he’d plied his trade in South America and on the third tier in the UK and the Middle East.
But three minor tour wins that year, followed by a weekend of major championship golf, fuelled him to land a first win on the Challenge Tour.
That earned him a second tier card and he graduated to the DP World Tour at the end of last year. Four top 10s this year have him ranked 47th in the Race to Dubai so a good finish this week would go a long way to securing a spot in the end of season DP World Tour Championship.
That stellar form in the summer of 2023 has been crucial to his development.
“I was playing well and in a good head space,” he told Golf365 after his round of 68.
“Before then I believed I could do it and afterwards I knew I could do it. It gave me so much confidence and confirmed that I could play at this level.”
Justin Rose
The veteran’s career Indian Summer – which has taken in second place in last year’s Open, play-off defeat in this year’s Masters and victory in the PGA Tour’s St Jude Championship – might have another chapter after he made a fine start in his 22nd BMW PGA Championship.
He lost in extra holes in 2007 and was second in again in 2012, but victory just a few miles from his home would count as a significant career highlight. He admitted that he did little more than “survive the front nine” before “taking advantage of the par-5s” on the back nine.
Tom Vaillant
The Frenchman is in his second year on the DP World Tour and his two top 10s came in his rookie campaign. So he needs a special week to secure his playing rights for 2026 and a share of the lead on Thursday night is a good start. Maybe if he completes a good week he might even earn himself a Wikipedia page.
Rory McIlroy
The 2014 champion made the point in his pre-tournament press conference that his record at Wentworth is a little better than it first appears because he has finished top five in his last five appearances and has been second in 2018, 2022 and 2024 (only losing in extra holes last year).
He’s also now a resident of Wentworth so perhaps sleeping in his own bed will prove the difference between a near miss and the another trophy. He was very impressive in carding an opening round of 69, although he did miss a 4-foot birdie putt on 17 and then make bogey at 18 after finding water. What could have been a real win became something a little more borderline.
Losers
Jon Rahm
The Spaniard has played this championship three times in the past and he is yet to finish outside the top four. That might change this week after a 71 left him on the cut line.
His Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald might be a little concerned, less by his score, more by his downbeat mood throughout the round.
Brooks Koepka
When the five-time major champion was given a telling off by his coach Pete Cowen in the US Open, and responded with T12, it was taken as a sign that his long term form would improve.
But he’s failed to land another top 20 since, missed the cut in the Irish Open last week after a second round 80 and carded a first round 75 to sit outside the top 100.
The Højgaards
The 24-year-old Dane missed out on re-selection for Luke Donald’s European Ryder Cup team after a below average season and his Wentworth record isn’t too good either.
True, he finished T20 on debut in 2021, but in the last three years he’s failed to break the top 60 and he’s highly unlikely to break that trend after a 6-over-par 78 that left him bottom of the leaderboard.
He was 1-over stood on the penultimate tee whereupon it all went pear-shaped with a quadruple-bogey 9 at 17 and a bogey-6 at 18. Brother Rasmus, who is part of Europe’s 2025 team, fared much better on 17 and 18. In going birdie-eagle he bettered his brother on those two holes by eight shots, but still only carded a 74.
Maybe Luke Donald
After a dry and hot summer, the rain has come in this second week of September. It is likely to remain pretty much all week and the threat of further stoppages is real which might make for a cramped weekend schedule and – worst case scenario – a finish that lingers into Monday morning.
That would make a mess of Luke Donald’s plans because he and his team are all set to fly to New York for a Ryder Cup recce on Sunday evening. Which suggests that everything will be done to ensure the tournament finishes before then.
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