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BMW PGA Championship: Ludvig Åberg opens up two-shot lead after third round at Wentworth

Tommy Fleetwood and Connor Syme head the chasing pack after 54 holes at Wentworth, with Jon Rahm four off the pace heading into Sunday's final round which has been brought forward due to bad weather; watch live on Sky Sports Golf from 10am with Featured Group coverage from 8.30am

Saturday 16 September 2023 22:23, UK

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Ludvig Åberg will take a two-shot lead into the final round of the BMW PGA Championship after continuing his sensational form with a six-under 66 in the third round at Wentworth.

The 23-year-old Swede, who is bidding for back-to-back victories after winning the European Masters earlier this month to earn a Ryder Cup call-up, carded an eagle, five birdies and just one bogey to keep the chasing pack at bay as he finished on 16 under.

His nearest pursuers on 14 under are England's Tommy Fleetwood and Connor Syme of Scotland, although there are a number of players still within striking distance and ready to take advantage of any Sunday slip-ups by Åberg.

BMW PGA Championship: R3 leaderboard

-16: Ludvig Åberg (Swe) 66

-14: Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) 67, Connor Syme (Sco) 65

-13: Ryan Fox (Nzl) 66, Aaron Rai (Eng) 67, Callum Shinkwin (Eng) 64

-12: Jon Rahm (Esp) 66

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Åberg, who only turned professional in June, started the day in a tie for the lead on 10 under with his compatriot Sebastian Soderberg, but took command at the par-five fourth when he made an eagle after knocking his second to around six feet as Soderberg fell out of contention with a triple-bogey.

Machine-like golf from Åberg then earned him birdies at the seventh, eighth and 12th as he opened up a two-shot cushion despite a number of players keeping tabs on him.

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A hook into the trees off the 13th tee then looked like the pressure was starting to tell on Åberg as he took a drop and hacked out before leaving himself with a 36-footer for a bogey which he promptly drained for a massive confidence-booster.

The 15th was a perfectly-played hole which secured him another birdie and he then missed decent chances at the 16th and 17th before making a further gain from a greenside bunker at the 18th.

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"It was a lot of fun," said Åberg. "I felt like I was striking the ball pretty good today even though I had a few left misses with my driver but ended up with some key saves here and there, and then with a few nice shots coming in.

"I think even if I wasn't leading, I'd be looking forward to playing a Sunday round at Wentworth. Such an iconic place and I'm just fortunate to play good golf the last three days and hopefully I'll keep playing.

"I almost got a little bit of a warm-up the first two days playing with Rory (McIlroy), a lot of stuff going on. I felt like I handled it well the last two days and did the same today where I kept my feet where they are and tried to focus on one shot at a time. Hopefully I'll do the same tomorrow and play some good golf."

Fleetwood made an early slip with a bogey at the third but bounced back with an eagle at the fourth followed by a birdie at the fifth.

Further birdies at the 10th, 12th and 17th kept him in touch with Åberg as he signed for a 67 to sit ready to pounce in the final round, for which tee times have been brought forward due to the threat of bad weather with the final group teeing off at 10.30am.

Fleetwood said: "It is so much fun playing in front of a crowd like this, and you're getting rooted for all the way around. I'd love tomorrow to play well down the stretch and give them something to cheer about. It's such a cool atmosphere to play in. I look forward to that and keeping the crowd on myself.

"It's a huge event and something that everybody on The European Tour aims for in their career, and playing tomorrow with a chance and hopefully to be able to do it would really be great. I really look forward to it."

Syme stormed through the field with a run of four birdies and an eagle (at the 12th) in seven holes from the turn, but he was unable to take advantage of the two closing par-fives as back-to-back pars secured him a seven-under 65.

That score was bettered by Callum Shinkwin, who had ended a run of nine successive missed cuts at last week's Irish Open, as he rattled in eight birdies in a flawless 64, while his fellow Englishman Aaron Rai did manage to birdie the 18th for a 67 to join him on 13 under.

Also on 13 under is New Zealander Ryan Fox, whose colourful 66 included eagles at the fourth and 12th, five birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey at the fifth.

Jon Rahm, who has finished second on both his previous appearances at Wentworth, was hot on Åberg's tail when he made five birdies in six holes from the third as he produced a variety of excellent shots.

A further birdie followed at the 11th before a poor second shot at the 12th saw him play some ragged golf for a spell with two bogeys preceding closing birdies at 17 and 18th which earned the Spaniard a 66 and put him firmly back in contention at 12 under.

Rahm's European Ryder Cup team-mates Sepp Straka (69) and Tyrrell Hatton (68) both remain in the running on 11 under, while Viktor Hovland (67) will still hope to strike from 10 under, although defending champion Shane Lowry (67) may just be too far off the pace on nine under.

Belgium's Thomas Detry found himself at the top of the leaderboard alongside Åberg after four birdies in his first eight holes, but a poor back nine, culminating in a double-bogey at the last, saw him finish down on 10 under following a 71.

Friday's delays meant a late two-tee start to the third round with Rory McIlroy, who just made the cut, teeing off at the ninth from where he carded a 67, which featured seven birdies and two bogeys, to move to six under.

Soderberg went on to add another triple-bogey at the 17th in a round of 79 which dropped him back to three under, while Masahiro Kawamura, who was also in the final group tumbled, down to five under following a triple-bogey at the last for a 76.

Sky Sports' live coverage of the BMW PGA Championship continues with the final round on Sunday with Featured Groups from 8.30am ahead of full coverage from the earlier time of 10am on Sky Sports Golf. The first groups are scheduled to start at 8.10am with the final group out at 10.30am.

Live coverage from the opening day of the Ryder Cup begins on Friday September 29 from 6am on Sky Sports Golf, while live programming begins on Monday September 25. Stream the PGA Tour, DP Tour, Ryder Cup and more with NOW .

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2023 BMW Championship leaderboard: Viktor Hovland breaks course record, surges past Scottie Scheffler for win

Hovland put on a sensational performance sunday to vault up the fedex cup playoffs standings.

The 2023 BMW Championship and the round of the season both belong to Viktor Hovland. Finishing in a flurry at Olympia Fields, the Norwegian's final round course-record 61 that included a back-nine 28 and 12 threes on his scorecard was just enough to leap world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and fellow European Matt Fitzpatrick for a two-stroke victory in the second event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. 

"That definitely has to be the best round I've ever played," said Hovland. "Given the circumstances, playoff event at this golf course course, and to finish the way that I did the last nine holes was pretty special."

Hovland's 61 represents the lowest round in the history of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, but it didn't have the look of it during the middle stretch. Beginning the back nine four strokes off the pace of the Texan after turning in 2 under, Hovland put together one of the more absurd nine-hole heaters seen on the PGA Tour in recent memory. 

Carding seven birdies against zero bogeys, Hovland's back nine included eight threes, including par breakers on the difficult 17th and 18th, and only one four. Notching his second victory of the season with a frenzy of fireworks, Hovland has once again reminded golf fans he is among the four best players in the world.

The good decisions and shots piled up for Hovland, who became a mainstay on big-time leaderboards in 2023. Hovland's consistency has often been on display; he's one of four players to not miss a cut this season. His winning upside was validated with a massive victory at the Memorial this summer after a close call at the PGA Championship, but his ability to calm himself down and make the right choice at the right time has been a skill that he has had to learn and develop, sometimes even the hard way.

"I wouldn't say making seven birdies on the back nine is playing more conservatively going into the greens," said Hovland. "It just kind of worked out that way. I think it was more of a mindset thing. I think instead of 'Oh my God, I've got a chance to win. I need to birdie this hole, I need to birdie this hole, I need to birdie this hole to have a chance,' it was more 'OK, what is the right decision right here now, let's commit to it.' I obviously hit some great shots, got a couple nice bounces and the putts went in, but it wasn't like I mapped the whole thing out, I was just trying to make the best decision every single shot."

Hovland's performance is one for the memory banks. Not often does everything go right for a player with the right skillset at the right stage of the tournament. It's only possible if said player continues to make the right decisions, and while it may seem like those decisions came easy, like the birdies did, it took time, patience and practice to get here. That is just as impressive.

While he may have clipped Scheffler this week, Hovland will start behind the world No. 1 at the Tour Championship as the victory has catapulted him to second in the season-long race. He will begin the proceedings at East Lake Golf Club at 8 under while Scheffler starts at 10 under. Scheffler may be in the driver's seat for the second straight season heading into Atlanta, but if Hovland plays anything like he did Sunday at Olympia Fields, the American's statistically historic season may be upended by the Norwegian's heater. Grade: A++

Rick Gehman is joined by Kyle Porter, Patrick McDonald and Greg DuCharme to recap the BMW Championship. It's storylines, bets and the One & Done before heading to East Lake and the Tour Championship. Follow & listen to The First Cut on  Apple Podcasts  and  Spotify .

Below are the grades for rest of the leaderboard at the 2023 BMW Championship.

7. Sungjae Im (-10):  Im didn't finish where he wanted, but his performance earned him a fifth consecutive trip to the Tour Championship at East Lake. How rare is that? Im joins Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Tony Finau as the only five players to make each of the last five Tour Championships. That's extraordinary (and perhaps unexpected) company that shows just how consistently great Im has been on the PGA Tour. We generally underrate how impressive it is to make it all the way to the Tour Championship in a given year, and we definitely undervalue what it says about you as a player if you do it five times in a row.  Grade: A

T22. Lucas Glover (-4):  This is about where I expected Glover to land this week, and while it does mean a nice spot in the Tour Championship where he'll start with strokes on almost everyone in the field, it's probably the end of his bid for the Ryder Cup team (possibly unless he wins the Tour Championship). This week was more of a classic Glover week — he finished in the top five on approach shots and outside the top 30 in putting. This is not to demean what he did over the last two weeks, which was incredible, but it's a reminder that despite all the fervor of the last several weeks Glover is probably not a completely different player from who he's been over the course of his career. To be clear, that player is very good, I'm just not sure he's one that the United States should lean on in Rome to win for the first time in 30 years.  Grade: B

T34. Jordan Spieth (+1):  Spieth limped home with two bogeys and a double over the final nine holes to shoot 37 on the back and 71 on the day. It was (barely) good enough to finish 30th in the FedEx Cup standings after the second playoff event and make it to East Lake. It has to be frustrating to drive it like Spieth is yet not be getting much out of it because his iron play is struggling. He's not far away from something really special, but until the approach play improves, he's going to have to be perfect with his short game to have a chance to win. To be honest, I'm just thankful for a new Spieth meme.  Grade: B-

Take a bow, Viktor Hovland

A BACK-NINE 28 for our sweet prince has Viktor Hovland with the clubhouse lead. That is a 61 for Hov and potentially the round of the season. He sits at 17 under and one clear of Scottie Scheffler who is in the fairway on 17. Hovland has 12 3s on his card today.

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09/09 – 09/12/2021

European Tour : BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP 2021

Wentworth Golf Club – Virginia Water, England

• Prize money: 8,000,000 US-Dollar
• Defending champion: Tyrell Hatton

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Leaderboard: BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

Current leaderboard after round 4 at the BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP 2021 on the European Tour in Virginia Water, England.

The BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP 2021 is part of the European Tour in the season 2021. In 2021 all players competing for a total prize money of 8,000,000 US-Dollar.

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European Tour 2018: Live leaderboard for BMW PGA Championship

• Published: May. 24, 2018, 5:11 a.m.

Rory McIlroy, shown in competition earlier this month, is in the field at the European Tour's BMW PGA Championship 2018 this week.(Lynne Sladky/AP)

• Dennis Manoloff, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Ernie Els and defending champion Alex Noren are among those in the field at the European Tour's BMW PGA Championship 2018 this week in England.

• BMW PGA LEADERBOARD

Round 1 is Thursday, May 24.

EUROPEAN TOUR BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP Site: Virginia Water, England. Course: Wentworth Club (West Course). Yardage: 7,284. Par: 72. Purse: $7 million. Winner's share: $1,166,667. Television:  Thursday-Friday, 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Golf Channel). Defending champion: Alex Noren. Last week: Adrian Otaegui won the Belgian Knockout. Race to Dubai leader: Patrick Reed. Notes: This is the first of eight tournaments that are part of the Rolex Series and offer at least $7 million in prize money. ... Rory McIlroy and Paul Casey are the only players from the top 10 in the world in the field. Jon Rahm and Justin Rose are playing at Colonial on the PGA Tour. Also playing Colonial is Shubhankar Sharma of India, No. 2 in the Race to Dubai. ... The top 50 in the world after this week are exempt into the British Open if they are not already eligible. ... The field features four players who have been No. 1 in the world: McIlroy, Ernie Els, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer. McIlroy is the only one from that group to have been No. 1 since June 2011. ... Starting with the BMW PGA Championship, points will be multiplied by 1.5 (ranking points and earnings) through the Made in Denmark tournament that ends Sept. 2. ... Casey, who won in 2009, returns to Wentworth for the first time in five years. ... The tournament dates to 1972. Tony Jacklin won the inaugural championship. The only American winner was Arnold Palmer in 1975. Next week: Italian Open. Online:   www.europeantour.com

(Fact box from Associated Press.)

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Looking ahead to the second round of the 2024 PGA Championship

L OUISVILLE, Ky. -- The opening round of the 2024 PGA Championship featured a broken course record, ideal weather conditions (for now), a few struggling major winners and 64 players under par.

There's a lot of golf left before another major winner is crowned, but after just 18 holes there are plenty of storylines heading into Day 2. Here are seven things we're keeping an eye on.

Can Xander Schauffele hold on?

Wire-to-wire winners are increasingly rare in golf these days, let alone at a major championship. That does not bode well for Schauffele who, despite shooting the lowest round in major history on Thursday yet again, has made a name for himself as a player who consistently puts himself in position to win, but can't seem to close on major Sundays.

Schauffele now has a cumulative score of 40-under in opening rounds of major championships, which is both impressive and equally telling of how many opportunities he's squandered.

As if Schauffele's chances this week needed any more skepticism -- since 2000, of the four players that have had a multishot lead after the 1st round of the PGA Championship, none finished in the top 10, and the last 8 players with a multishot lead after the opening round also failed to win.

Now for the opposing view: Outside of Rory McIlroy or Scottie Scheffler , no one is playing better golf right now than Schauffele, who has had eight top-10 finishes already this season. He has added length off the tee, is hitting his irons as accurately as anyone and, as evidenced by his performance on Thursday, seems to have figured something out with his putter, too.

"I feel there's spurts, moments in time where you feel like you can control the ball really well; you're seeing the greens really well; you're chipping really well," Schauffele said of the state of his game. "But over a prolonged period, it's tough to upkeep high performance."

Forget a prolonged period -- how about three more days? Schauffele is on top right now, but the crop of players chasing him is about as good as it gets.

McIlroy is four shots back after playing a self-described "scrappy" round of golf where he put two balls in the water and still shot 66. Defending champion Brooks Koepka is also looming after a first-round 67, while Scottie Scheffler showed up from a three-week hiatus and holed out for eagle on the first hole en route to a 4-under 67.

The 21 players within six shots of Schauffele have a combined 17 major championships between them. Schauffele, of course, has zero. Very few things in his track record suggest he will be able to hold on. This week, however, is as good a time as any for him to turn that narrative around.

Is Viktor Hovland back?

At the end of 2023, the golf world had no choice but to consider Hovland one of the best players in the world. He had won just four times in one season, including back-to-back wins at the BMW Championship and the Tour championship, and appeared primed for a big year in the majors in 2024.

Instead, Hovland stopped working with Joe Mayo, the swing coach that had helped him sharpen his short game and improve his swing, and tried to change his swing once again. The results suffered.

Instead of a breakout 2024, Hovland missed the cut at the Masters and has only one top-20 finish this season. He's spent more time on the range trying to figure stuff out than getting airtime for being in contention.

This week at Valhalla, Hovland was once again spending ample time on the range on Wednesday, but as he confirmed on Thursday after an opening round, 3-under 68, he is back working with Mayo and was recently with him in Las Vegas to get his swing back into shape.

"Just reached out and was wondering if he could take a look at my golf swing, and let's get back to work," Hovland said Thursday. "He knows my swing really well. He's really, really smart, and just has a way of looking at my swing and kind of knowing what it is right away. Felt like I got some really good answers, was able to apply some of the feels right away, and I saw improvement right away."

It's only one round, but Hovland looked much improved on Thursday, gaining over three strokes on the field and driving the ball far better than he has this season as well as saving some shots with his short game. He credited Mayo for giving him an exaggerated swing feel that he practiced in the lead-up to the tournament in order to improve his driving. Overall, Hovland said, he is trying to simplify things.

"If you're hitting it poorly, you're not just going to figure it out by doing the same stuff. You have to change some stuff," Hovland said. "I was trying to get back to what is the most natural for me to do instead of going down these other rabbit holes."

Hovland may not win this week, but if he can continue this level of play, it may bode well for the rest of his major season and we might get the breakout year we all foresaw, after all.

Theegala's bad luck

Sahith Theegala might not be the biggest name on the leaderboard, but the reigning Fortinet Championship winner is one of the fastest rising stars on the PGA Tour.

Theegala had a bogey-free, 4-under 31 on the front nine en route to a 6-under 65 on Thursday.

Theegala wasn't even sure he'd be able to play the past two weeks. He slipped a rib while getting into a golf cart, but was able to recover in time to play in last week's Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, tying for 52nd.

"I immediately called my chiro and got three really painful adjustments to get it back in place and couldn't really breathe or move all Saturday and Sunday," Theegala said. "But I traveled Monday, knowing that I've done it before, and it's healed in a week or two. So I figured with some aggressive rehab, it was going to heal quickly."

It wasn't the first time he'd injured the rib.

"Knock-on-wood, I've never had low-back issues," Theegala said. "I've never really had back issues to begin with, really. It's just kind of a freak thing. And now that it's happened twice in the past couple years, I just need to focus on [strengthening] the back muscles a little bit so that sucker doesn't pop out again."

Here comes the rain

Valhalla Golf Club was already soft from rain earlier this week, which led to Thursday's low scoring, and there's a good chance of more precipitation coming, according to the Weather Channel.

Forecasts call for a 60% chance of rain Friday with the possibility of thunderstorms. There's a 46% chance of rain Saturday, followed by mostly sunny conditions with high temperatures around 88 degrees for Sunday.

"The fairways are nice and it's in great condition, but the greens are really holding," said European Ryder Cup team captain Luke Donald , who posted a 1-under 70. "Even me hitting some longer irons -- 4-, 5-, 3-irons -- into greens, they're holding.

"The pins are tucked away on some of the holes, but you can still access them. Xander is probably hitting less clubs into the holes than I am. But when the ball hits on the green and just stops there and you can control that, then you can make some birdies. There's not a lot of wind. It's really nice conditions. I'm not surprised to see someone going pretty low."

Three years ago, Valhalla replaced its bentgrass fairways with zoysia grass, which was supposed to be firmer and faster. That might not be the case this week, however.

"The greens could get a little bit firmer, so that could make it a little more tricky," McIlroy said. "But even if the fairways dry out, [with] the zoysia, the ball doesn't really go anywhere when it lands. I could see it getting a touch firmer, but I still think it's going to be pretty low scoring."

Golfers with work to do

There were 64 golfers who had scores under par on Thursday, which is the most for an opening round in PGA Championship history. The previous highest total was 60 at Medinah Country Club in Illinois in 2006, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

The top 70 scores and ties will make the 36-hole cut. There were 84 players at even or better after 18 holes.

There are some big names who have work to do Friday to make it to the weekend, including Ludvig Åberg (1 over), Adam Scott (1 over), Tiger Woods (1 over), Tommy Fleetwood (1 over), Rickie Fowler (1 over), Brian Harman (1 over), Sam Burns (1 over), Dustin Johnson (2 over), Joaquín Niemann (2 over) and Phil Mickelson (3 over), who made a mess of the 18th hole for a double-bogey.

"Well, you can't win a tournament unless you make the cut," said Woods, who won his second of four PGA Championships at Valhalla in 2000. "That's the whole idea is [to] get to the weekend so that you can participate and have a chance to win. I've been on the cut number and have won tournaments, or I've been ahead and leading tournaments and I've won tournaments. But you have to get to the weekend in order to win a golf tournament."

The state of Jon Rahm's game, plus other LIV musings

Rahm had an eventful opening round Thursday as he shot even par but began the day with four bogeys in his first six holes. The Spaniard, who has played about half as many competitive rounds this year on the LIV Golf tour as he did last season on the PGA Tour, was grinding and showed his emotions after bad shots several times.

It was a round that included both laughs and club throws. In other words, a quintessential Rahm round.

It's fair to wonder how much playing on LIV, and playing less golf, has affected Rahm's performances so far. At Augusta, his title defense never truly had a chance as he finished in a tie for 45th. Rahm is currently tied for 44th at Valhalla and eight shot back of Schauffele. Whether we get the front-nine (4-over) version of Rahm or the back nine (4-under) version of him on Friday will determine whether he can stick around for the weekend.

Other LIV golfers to watch heading into Friday include Brooks Koepka, who began his PGA title defense with a quiet but effective 4-under 67 -- the best score of any LIV player in the field.

Cameron Smith , Bryson DeChambeau and Martin Kaymer (yes, that Martin Kaymer) showed their major championship bona fides with rounds of 68 that put them six back of Schauffele.

Meanwhile, the much-talked about Talor Gooch looked well on his way to a potential missed cut after being 3-over through 14 holes before going 3-under in his last four to get back to even par. We wouldn't want to have to put an asterisk on the final two rounds should he not be able to play them.

No Block party this time

Unless California club pro Michael Block puts up a great score on Friday, he won't be making the cut this year. Block was the darling of the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York, tying for 15th and making a final-round ace on the par-3 15th hole.

On Thursday, Block had a nightmare start, carding a bogey on No. 1 and a quadruple-bogey 8 on No. 2. He was 5 over after 2 holes.

Give Block credit for hanging in there and playing even par the rest of the way to post a 5-over 76. He was attempting to become the first PGA Club pro to make the cut in back-to-back PGA Championships since Tom Wargo in 1992-93.

The low club pro on Thursday was Jeremy Wells , who posted a 2-under 69. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Wells is just the second club pro in the past 20 years to break 70 in the first round of the PGA Championship. Bob Sowards posted a 69 at Atlanta Athletic Club in 2011.

Last year, the club pro at Cypress Lake Golf Club in Fort Myers, Florida, thought he overdid it by playing four practice rounds at Oak Hill. He missed the cut with a 74-78.

On Wednesday, he made his way into a practice round with Scheffler and Max Homa , which was beneficial.

"I'm on the first tee today, got like 12 people watching and I know them all, right?" Wells said. "Yesterday, it was the real deal. To have that experience yesterday, to be so heightened and so nervous in a practice round, and I hit it fine. I survived. And that made today feel a little bit [better]."

30 - 02 Jun 2024

European Open

Green Eagle Golf Courses, Hamburg, Germany

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