Eddie Pepperell, Ian Poulter and Tommy Fleetwood all showed incredible grit on home soil to sit in promising positions after day one of the 2020 BMW PGA Championship.
Indian duo Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar shot one-over-73 in the opening round and lying at T69. Shubhankat shot four birdies, three bogeys with a double, whereas Bhullar carded three birdies and four bogies to end the first round with one-over scores.
Golf is a hard enough sport as it is – add in going up against a Rolex Series field at a Wentworth Golf Club that is playing long after a lot of recent rain and it is very difficult indeed.
On top of all that Pepperell was struggling with his swing in the early part of his round, hitting wild tee shots and rescuing himself with some stunning short-game play.
The 29-year-old made the most of his scrambling and carded a 67 to sit just one shot off the lead.
“I hit the starter’s hut on the East Course off the first tee… made a chip-in for par,” he said.
“Snap-hooked my tee shot into three, made a great bogey and I had no idea what I was doing.
Poulter was facing a different challenge as back spasms meant the Ryder Cup talisman was unsure if he would finish his round on the front nine.
He held it together to sit just one over after 15 holes and then finished birdie-birdie-eagle to catapult himself to three under.
Fleetwood made a bogey-bogey start and more dropped shots on the fifth and seventh meant he turned in 39 and the thoughts of some observers were turning to the cut rather than the trophy.
The 2017 Race to Dubai champion then birdied the 12th and 13th and finished his round with three more gains to drag himself back into red figures.
The three men now all sit within five shots of the lead and should they lift the trophy on Sunday, they may well look back on their first 18 holes as the key.
European Tour Release, Oct 09, 2020
