RORY CAN FIRE BACK ONTHEGREEN
THERE was heartbreak for the throngs of Rory McIlroy fans as he lost out to Rasmus Hojgaard at the Amgen Irish Open last Sunday.
Huge credit goes to Hojgaard for firing in four birdies in his last five holes to snatch a famous victory at Royal County Down away from McIlroy.
In fairness to Rory, he had played superbly and his only real mistake — the clumsy three-putt on 17 — cost him dearly.
It was the third time in recent months that McIlroy has been denied a win in the closing holes. He suffered similar fate at the US Open and the Olympics, but you can expect him to bounce straight back this week at the DP World Tour’s flagship event, the 2024 BMW PGA Championship on Wentworth’s iconic West Course.
The tournament has a strong field competing for an €8million prize fund with a first prize of almost €1.5million. This event is generally won with a low score, with the winning total for the past six years ranging from -17 to -20.
McIlroy is the 6/1 favourite this week but his Wentworth record is mixed. He came from four shots back on the final day to win this prestigious title back in 2014.
He has also recorded two second-place finishes but has three missed cuts there in recent seasons.
Tight
In general, McIlroy’s ball striking is unrivalled and that’s a huge advantage around this tight Wentworth layout.
That near miss last weekend is likely to motivate rather than hold him back and you can expect Rory to come out with all guns blazing this week.
The last seven winners of the BMW PGA Championship have gone off at double figure prices, but he might buck that trend this week.
Ryan Fox is the defending champion having won this title last year in thrilling fashion.
Fox came into the final round three shots off the lead and then made a triple bogey at the third hole, but he came home in 31 shots, holing a six-foot birdie putt at the last to win by a single shot.
Fox is 50/1 to successfully defend this title. His win at Wentworth was his most recent success and he has missed his last two cuts, so it would be a surprise if he became the first player since Luke Donald to record backto-back wins at Wentworth (Donald achieved the feat in 2011 and 2012).
Course specialist Shane Lowry won at Wentworth in 2022 on a 17 under par total by a single shot from McIlroy and Jon Rahm.
Lowry has always enjoyed the Wentworth challenge, featuring prominently eight times, so it was no surprise that he eventually won this title two years ago.
Lowry is priced at 18/1 this week (he started at 16/1 when he won in 2022) and he goes into this year’s renewal off the back of one of his strongest ever seasons, making the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake for the first time.
Improve
All departments of Lowry’s game are strong at present, and he can significantly improve on his T-12 th finish last weekend at Royal County Down.
The same faces appear on Wentworth leaderboards year after year and you can expect Lowry to be among them once again.
Billy Horschel became just the second American golfer in history after Arnold Palmer to become BMW PGA champion with his win at Wentworth in 2021 on a 19 under par total, one shot ahead of Jamie Donaldson, Laurie Canter and Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
Horschel was fourth at the BMW PGA Championship on his previous appearance prior to his victory, was T-9th as defending champion and T18th last season, so at odds of 20/1, he looks a sporting each way bet at Wentworth once again.
Rise
Robert MacIntyre’s season has been a breakthrough one, with wins at the Canadian and Scottish Opens, a place at the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake and a consequent rise to World No.15. MacIntyre goes into this off the back of a top five last week at Royal County Down and the Scot has the skillset to round off a golden spell with a win at the DP World Tour’s flagship event.
A couple of players at huge prices worthy of each-way consideration are Daniel Brown (150/1) and Aaron Cockerill (250/1).
After recovering from a knee injury, Brown had a top 10 at the Open Championship at Troon and had another superb showing last week at Royal County Down, with a 4th place finish at the Amgen Irish Open.
Form
He’s already a winner on tour and, although his two good recent results have come on links course, it’s worth taking a chance on him at big odds to carry his good form through to Wentworth and make the each-way places at least. Canadian Aaron Cockerill has had four top-10 finishes this season. He opened his year with a T-4 th at the Dubai Desert Classic and was T-9 th last week at Royal County Down.
He is also worth following as he’s a player on the rise who could be a surprise package this week.