European Tour Release
May 27, 2016: Masters Champion Danny Willett lived up to his billing with a sparkling six under par 66 in the first round of the BMW PGA Championship, his first appearance on home soil since his wonderful victory at Augusta National. Indian golfers Jeev Milkha Singh and SSP Chawrasia shot 71 in the first round of the BMW PGA Championship.
The 28 year old Englishman, the highest ranked player in the field, was the only player not to drop a shot at Wentworth Club and sits one stroke behind the trio of Australian Scott Hend, Dutchman Joost Luiten and Korean YE Yang.
Australian Richard Green birdied the last three holes to get to five under, alongside South African Jaco Van Zyl and England’s Robert Rock, while there were also strong starts for Ryder Cup stars Graeme McDowell and Victor Dubuisson, both three under, and two-time former champion Luke Donald, who went one better to lie tied eighth.
“To be in front of the English crowds at home and have that reception on the first tee is brilliant. You always get great crowds at Wentworth. I didn’t hit loads of fairways but I was never in too much trouble. I hit some great mid to short irons and rolled a few putts in. It was a really solid start to the week. We had a beautiful day today – I don’t think we’ve had it like this here for a few years, and it makes a massive difference. The greens are a little better than they were the last couple years, and I think everyone would agree with that.”, said Danny Willett.
“I started with a bogey on the first, so to get it back to seven under means you’ve hit a lot of good shots, and I’m very happy with that. I’ve had a couple decent finishes here, but it’s one of those courses where if you play well, you can shoot a low score, and if you’re struggling with your game, you struggle to score, as well. It’s a very tough and demanding golf course.”, said defending player Joost Luiten.
Round 1 scores:
65 Y Yang (Kor) , S Hend (Aus) , J Luiten (Ned) ,
66 D Willett (Eng) ,
67 R Rock (Eng) , R Green (Aus) , J Van Zyl (RSA) ,
68 L Donald (Eng) , K Aphibarnrat (Tha) ,
69 R Karlberg (Swe) , S Khan (Eng) , J Quesne (Fra) , F Aguilar (Chi) , R Wattel (Fra) , S Lowry (Irl) , G McDowell (Nir) , V Dubuisson (Fra) , E De La Riva (Esp) , G Woodman (Eng) , A Noren (Swe) ,
70 D Lingmerth (Swe) , M Kaymer (Ger) , D Drysdale (Sco) , S Benson (Eng) , R Dinwiddie (Eng) , S Kjeldsen (Den) , C Lee (Sco) , M Hoey (Nir) , A Dodt (Aus) , M Ford (Eng) , P Hanson (Swe) , T Jaidee (Tha) ,
71 L Westwood (Eng) , R Cabrera Bello (Esp) , T Pieters (Bel) , J Lovemark (USA) , D Lipsky (USA) , J Carlsson (Swe) , J Campillo (Esp) , M Carlsson (Swe) , E Pepperell (Eng) , N Elvira (Esp) , J Lagergren (Swe) , G Hutcheon (Sco) , M Siem (Ger) , R Bland (Eng) , J Singh (Ind) , A Sullivan (Eng) , S Chawrasia (Ind) , R Ramsay (Sco) , D Brooks (Eng) , P Larrazábal (Esp) , T Aiken (RSA) ,
72 S Jamieson (Sco) , F Zanotti (Par) , G Fox (Sco) , P Meesawat (Tha) , L Slattery (Eng) , E Molinari (Ita) , C Wood (Eng) , D Horsey (Eng) , R Gouveia (Por) , T Hatton (Eng) , B An (Kor) , J Wang (Kor) , T Fisher Jnr (RSA) , F Molinari (Ita) , N Holman (Aus) , P Lawrie (Sco) , M Fitzpatrick (Eng) ,
73 G Bourdy (Fra) , D Howell (Eng) , J Fahrbring (Swe) , J Morrison (Eng) , R Paratore (Ita) , M Foster (Eng) , T Fleetwood (Eng) , H Otto (RSA) , S Lee (Kor) , J Ruth (Eng) , R Fisher (Eng) , S Webster (Eng) , B Stone (RSA) , N Colsaerts (Bel) , R Kakko (Fin) , J Hansen (Den) , O Fisher (Eng) , M Manassero (Ita) ,
74 G Storm (Eng) , J Parry (Eng) , L Bjerregaard (Den) , T Olesen (Den) , L Haotong (Chn) , A Quiros (Esp) , R Sterne (RSA) , R Jacquelin (Fra) , G Havret (Fra) , T Linard (Fra) , B Åkesson (Swe) , M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) ,
75 O Wilson (Eng) , R Knox (Sco) , A Wall (Eng) , R Karlsson (Swe) , B Hebert (Fra) , T Bjørn (Den) , S Gallacher (Sco) , D Higgins (Irl) , J Winther (Den) , N Fasth (Swe) , B Dredge (Wal) , M Madsen (Den) , A Cañizares (Esp) ,
76 B Wiesberger (Aut) , P Edberg (Swe) , G Stal (Fra) , S Hansen (Den) , A Johnston (Eng) , W Ashun (Chn) , B Evans (Eng) , C Moriarty (Irl) ,
77 S Drummond (Sco) , J Donaldson (Wal) , G Boyd (Eng) , M Ilonen (Fin) , G Wright (Wal) , S Gros (Fra) , K Broberg (Swe) , S Dyson (Eng) , M Baldwin (Eng) ,
78 G Coetzee (RSA) , C Paisley (Eng) , B Virto Astudillo (Esp) , M Kieffer (Ger) , E España (Fra) , M Warren (Sco) , J Ablett (Eng) , M Fraser (Aus) , M Jiménez (Esp) , P McGinley (Irl) , M Cort (Eng) , B Rumford (Aus) ,
79 D Clarke (Nir) , H Porteous (RSA) , R Davies (Wal) ,
80 D Fichardt (RSA) ,
82 M Southgate (Eng) ,
84 J Scrivener (Aus) , E Brady (Irl) ,
87 J Jeong (Kor).
