BMW PGA Championship 2015: Daily Leaderboard Analysis, Highlights and More
The BMW PGA Championship celebrates its 60th year as one of the UK's great golf tournaments, with a host of superstar names taking part in the competition at the Wentworth Club in Surrey, England.
Wentworth also doubles as the administrative home of the European Tour, making this the flagship competition of the whole tour calendar.
After three evenly contested days, Byeong Hun An coasted to victory with a stunning final round of 65. It was the South Korean's first win on the European Tour.
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Sunday Recap
Stunning An Romps to Victory
Here’s a look at the final leaderboard:
| 1. | Byeong Hun An | -21 | 65 |
| T2. | Miguel Angel Jimenez | -15 | 67 |
| T2. | Thongchai Jaidee | -15 | 69 |
| 4. | Chris Wood | -13 | 66 |
| 5. | Francesco Molinari | -12 | 74 |
| T6. | Shane Lowry | -11 | 69 |
| T6. | Tommy Fleetwood | -11 | 72 |
| T8. | Julien Quesne | -10 | 68 |
| T8. | Alex Noren | -10 | 71 |
| 10. | Alejandro Canizares | -9 | 68 |
An incredible final round of 65 from Byeong Hun An saw him wrap up the BMW PGA Championship by six shots at Wentworth.
The South Korean went into the final day level with Francesco Molinari, but An capitalised on a poor start from the Italian, rattling off five birdies and one eagle to finish at 21 under for the tournament.
As noted by the European Tour’s official Twitter account, it was a landmark score from An:
The early holes really set the tone for the two leaders coming into the day. Molinari bogeyed the first, and two at the par-three second from the South Korean saw him establish a two-shot lead. From that point on, An never looked back.
An played solidly for the remainder of the front nine, bagging another birdie at the fourth. But it was after the turn that he really started to motor.
Here’s one of a selection of delectable shots from the champion:
A birdie at the 11th hole was followed by an eagle at No. 12, before An grabbed a couple of more shots at Nos. 15 and 17.
Miguel Angel Jimenez and Thongchai Jaidee were the men closet to the immaculate An on the day, but neither were ever in realistic contention for the tournament title. The popular Spaniard thrilled the crowds as only he can, rattling in five birdies on the back nine as part of an excellent round of 67.
Golfing World paid tribute to Jimenez’s super effort on Day 4:
This was a superb performance from An, who is just 23 years old. To go into Day 4 alongside someone like Molinari with the pressure on is tough enough, but to flourish as he did showed remarkable temperament.
The win at Wentworth proved he can mix it with the very best, and it’s clear there is a bright future ahead for this extraordinary young talent. He’s certainly a star to keep an eye out for in the coming months with some prestigious European Tour dates and major tournaments to come.
Saturday Recap
Molinari and An Tied for Lead, Fleetwoord Impresses
Let's have a look at the leaderboard after Day 3:
| T1 | Byeong-hun An | -14 | -5 |
| T1 | Francesco Molinari | -14 | -4 |
| 3 | Thongchai Jaidee | -12 | -4 |
| 4 | Tommy Fleetwood | -11 | -7 |
| 5 | Miguel Angel Jimenez | -10 | -4 |
| 6 | Alex Noren | -9 | -4 |
| 7 | Shane Lowry | -8 | -5 |
| 8 | Chris Wood | -7 | -4 |
| T9 | Peter Uihlein | -6 | -6 |
| T9 | Jamie Donaldson | -6 | -5 |
Byeong-hun An and Francesco Molinari share the lead heading into the final day of the 2015 PGA Championship, with the former grabbing a share of the lead on the final hole of Day 3.
Molinari has led throughout the tournament but had to settle for par on his final four holes on Saturday, leading to a score of four-under 68. An closed his round with back-to-back birdies and a five-under 67, setting up the tie as we head into Sunday's round.
No golfer had a better outing than Tommy Fleetwood on Saturday, as the Brit played a round of seven-under 65 to put himself within striking distance of Molinari and An. The 24-year-old looked particularly impressive on the par fives, via the official Twitter account of the European Tour:
Footage of his albatros:
Fleetwood struggled somewhat during the second day of competition, but if he can keep up the sensational form he showed on Saturday, he has a chance of catching up to Molinari and An, who have been nearly untouchable all week.
The Brit drove the ball better on Saturday than he did all week, and he found the fairway an impressive 12 out of 14 times. It'll be hard to replicate those numbers, but if he can, the top spot is there for the taking.
Fleetwood took to Twitter to thank the fans for the incredible support―and to talk about his albatros, of course:
Jaidee Thongchai played a solid round of four-under 68 to keep him in the running for the 2015 PGA Championship, sitting just behind the two leaders.
Remember when Miguel Angel Jimenez tied Colin Montgomerie for most hole-in-ones in European Tour history last week at the Spanish Open, via Reuters (for Eurosport)? Well, on Saturday, the Spaniard did this:
Jimenez trails An and Molinari by four shots after a four-under 68, and while he's unlikely to play for the win on Sunday, he remains one of the most entertaining figures at Wentworth.
The home crowd will undoubtedly be pulling for Fleetwood to continue his ascent, but given the consistency Molinari has shown, the Italian has to be considered the favourite going into Sunday. Putting has been his main issue, and if he keeps up his good work off the tee, the ball should fall better for him again on Sunday.
Tuesday Recap
Molinari Consolidates, Rory Misses Cut
Here’s how the leaderboard is shaping up after Day 2 of the tournament:
| 1. | Francesco Molinari | -10 | 69 |
| T2. | Emiliano Grillo | -8 | 65 |
| T2. | Thongchai Jaidee | -8 | 66 |
| T4. | James Morrison | -7 | 66 |
| T4. | Byeong Hun An | -7 | Ongoing |
| T6. | Miguel Angel Jimenez | -6 | 70 |
| T6. | Robert Karlsson | -6 | 71 |
| T8. | Joost Luiten | -5 | 67 |
| T8. | Alex Noren | -5 | 67 |
| T10. | Thomas Bjorn | -4 | 71 |
Francesco Molinari is set to take a two-shot lead into the weekend after another excellent round at Wentworth.
The Italian shot a solid three-under 69 to back up his stunning 65 from Day 1. His closest challengers look likely to be Emiliano Grillo and Thongchai Jaidee, who shot 65 and 66 respectively on Friday, putting them just two shots behind on eight-under par for the tournament.
While these players were tussling it out at the top, a disastrous round for Rory McIlroy means he wont be around for the weekend. The Northern Irishman endured an appalling day, shooting five bogeys and a double bogey at the 11th for a disappointing round of 77.
As noted by the European Tour Twitter feed, it all went wrong for McIlroy just after the turn:
"Rory declares his tee shot on 11 unplayable. Now hitting 3 off the tee. Currently on the cut line (+1). pic.twitter.com/sHUxmGoDr9
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 22, 2015"
After winning the Wells Fargo Championship by a whopping seven strokes last time out, the Northern Irishman will have been disappointed with his overall display in this tournament.
At the moment, his form is oscillating between awesome and awful. Justin Ray of the Golf Channel put McIlroy’s troubles in to context:
Molinari will be desperate to capitalise on the Northern Irishman’s misfortune, but things could have easily gone wrong for him on Day 2. The Italian began with two bogeys in his opening three holes, but recovered superbly to reestablish himself at the summit of the leaderboard.
Naturally, he was very pleased with how he responded after a tough beginning to the round, per the European Tour website:
"The start is really tricky the first three holes. I think I played them okay. My chipping wasn't good enough on the first and on the third to save par. I managed to steady the ship and made a few birdies coming in at the end, so a good day.
Obviously I'm delighted to have gone a little bit further under par from yesterday and just need to keep doing the same. I know how hard I've been working the last few months, so it's nice to see that it's paying off on the course.
"
Grillo fired himself in to contention with an excellent finish to the day. The Argentinian shot three birdies and two eagles on the back nine to post 65, but things could have been even better for him, as he dropped two sloppy shots during the round.
Jaidee’s round was a lot more orthodox. The man from Thailand was immaculate throughout the day, shooting six birdies to heap the pressure on the top two. His game looks in excellent fettle and there’s no doubt he’ll be one to watch when play gets underway this weekend.
Day 1 Recap
Magnificent Molinari Leads The Way
Here is the current leaderboard after the first day of play on Thursday:
| 1 | Francesco Molinari | -7 | 65 |
| 2 | Robert Karlsson | -5 | 67 |
| T3 | Jorge Campillo | -4 | 68 |
| T3 | Chris Wood | -4 | 68 |
| T3 | Miguel Angel Jimenez | -4 | 68 |
| T3 | Y.E. Yang | -4 | 68 |
| T3 | Marc Warren | -4 | 68 |
| T8 | Pablo Larrazabal | -3 | 69 |
| T8 | Tommy Fleetwood | -3 | 69 |
| T8 | Nicolas Colsaerts | -3 | 69 |
| T8 | Peter Lawrie | -3 | 69 |
| T8 | Thomas Bjorn | -3 | 69 |
Francesco Molinari took the early lead on Thursday at Wentworth, posting a tremendous score of 65 on Day 1.
The brilliant Italian from Turin placed himself two shots in the lead, with Sweden's Robert Karlsson in second place.
The world No. 66 hit a bogey-free round, sinking seven birdie putts along the way, per EuropeanTour.com. Molinari was steady on the first nine, sandwiching his birdies on holes four and five with a clutch of steady pars. His round came to life in the second half of his effort, marking his card with five beautiful birdies—including the final two holes.
It was a difficult day for the reigning champion, as he posted a disappointing round of one-under 71 for the day. The total leaves him tied in 23rd, but with three days of golf to play, the Northern Irishman can get himself back into contention.
However, The European Tour's official Twitter account highlighted McIlroy will now struggle to win the overall competition:
McIlroy was perturbed with his effort for the day, but he was clearly not too disappointed with his round, as reported by Alex Perry of ESPN.co.uk:
"Physically I am all right, I got back to my hotel at 4.30pm [on Wednesday] and did not leave it until 6.30am this morning—but mentally I could feel myself getting a little angry out there. Acceptance of bad shots is the thing I have been doing so well and I feel like my patience was wearing a bit thin today. I felt I was standing still at one-under but looking at the leaderboard it was not so bad."
"
Karlsson, winner of 11 European Tour events, placed himself well for an attack on the trophy in the days to come, shooting a five-under to give chase to Molinari. The Swede was steady, if not spectacular, and only a bogey on the seventh hole blotted his copybook for the day.
The shot of the first round came from Andrew Johnson on the 10th, as the golfer hit a wonderful hole-in-one, sparking wild celebrations from the player and the crowd.
Johnson won himself a BMW for his efforts, as highlighted by the championship on social media:
Molinari was composed on Thursday, but the threat of McIlroy is there to be felt. The top player in world golf did not have a disastrous first round, but the pressure is always on him to lead and perform wonders.
But at just six shots off the pace, he can eat into the Italian's lead, who is not likely to shoot a seven-under again during this competition.
McIlroy's big challenge could come from Karlsson, who has a strong pedigree on the tour, and he knows what it takes to win illustrious titles when he is well placed.
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