Defending champion Paul Casey of England will lead a glittering cast at the 39th edition of The European Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship, which will be played for the first time over the remodelled West Course at the iconic Wentworth Club.
Twelve months ago Casey, currently the World Number Eight, saw off another local favourite in Ross Fisher, whose closing round of 64 left him one shot shy of both the course record and his compatriot’s winning aggregate total of 17 under par.
Casey, who will be joined in the field by four other players from the world’s top ten in the new World Number Three Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter (sixth), Ernie Els (seventh) and Rory McIlroy (ninth), will now bid to become the first man to successfully defend the title since Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie ran up a hat-trick of victories from 1998-2000.
He said: “I know I’m going to have a good attitude about defending my title. I’m intrigued to see what changes Ernie [Els] has made, and how the greens perform; but I know that with these two par fives to finish, we’re going to have fun and excitement. Anything can happen – that’s the beauty of Wentworth.
“From the history, to the course, the clubhouse, the players – that is why every one of us playing on The European Tour wants to win. Just standing in the middle of the first fairway and looking back at the tee and that famous clubhouse makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.
“That’s what pleased me as much as anything about winning the Championship. You look at the Hall of Fame and see clubs donated by Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros, Sir Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer – the list is endless. It means so much to me to have one of my golf clubs alongside those icons of the game.”
The winners of ten of the last 12 editions of the BMW PGA Championships at Wentworth Club – which will be hosting the €4.5million event for the 27th year in succession – will be present, including multiple champions Anders Hansen of Denmark, the winner in 2002 and 2007, and of course Montgomerie.
The roll-call of champions continues with 18 of the 20 winners from the 2010 European Tour International Schedule competing over the famous Surrey venue, which was closed for ten months whilst new greens were laid and greens complexes were built to USGA specifications.
Perhaps the most dramatic changes have been made to the par fourth eighth and par five finishing hole, where a brook now cuts across the fairway, leaving players with the option of laying up short or boldly going for the green.
Els, who still owns a house on the Wentworth Estate and has won the World Match Play Championship on the West Course a record seven times, said: “Everyone knows how special Wentworth is to me, so of course it was an honour to be given the responsibility of renovating this classic course and bringing it into the 21st century. At Ernie Els Design we’re very proud of what we’ve achieved, and I think we’ve succeeded in making a great golf course even better – a real test for the best. I’m really looking forward to getting feedback from my fellow tour professionals. To be honest, I think they’re going to love it.”
Three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington recently played a practice round over the 7,261 yards, par 71 layout, and was effusive in his praise of the changes the Ernie Els Design team had made.
He said: “Having played the new West Course, I’m really impressed with the changes that have been made and, in particular, I’m happy to see the way that the greens are now putting. Once I heard they were going to re-model the greens, I said I’d be one of the first there. I really want to win the BMW PGA Championship, and I look forward to coming back to Wentworth to tee it up for real.”
Harrington’s best performance in his ten previous visits to the BMW PGA Championship was tied sixth in 2006, whilst his fellow Irishman Rory McIlroy – who recently made his breakthrough on the US PGA Tour with victory at the Quail Hollow Championship – managed to finish fifth on only his second appearance last year.
McIlroy, who turned 21 at the start of the month, said: “My last event was The Players Championship in America and now it is the BMW PGA Championship – outside the Majors and WGCs, those are two of the biggest tournaments in the world.
“I’m looking forward to getting to Wentworth and seeing the changes on the course. I think there’ll be an extra buzz at the event this year because of the changes and what people make of the new layout. Winning the BMW PGA would be a huge achievement. I went fairly close at Wentworth last year, and it would great to join the list of players who have won the title.”
Last year McIlroy became only the second 20 year old after Spaniard Sergio Garcia to break into the world’s top ten, and one man who has been tipped to follow in the footsteps of that illustrious duo is 17 year old Matteo Manassero.
Last June Manassero became the youngest winner of the Amateur Championship, which in turn earned him a place in the field for the 2010 Masters Tournament – where he upstaged a number of his elders by finishing in a tie for 36th place, in the process becoming the youngest player to make the cut at Augusta National.
On his first appearance as a professional at the BMW Italian Open two weeks ago he again enhanced his burgeoning reputation by recording a top 30 finish, and the young Italian will now continue his golfing education after receiving a special invitation to compete at the BMW PGA Championship.
At the other end of the experience spectrum, the likes of Poulter and Westwood will also be seeking a maiden victory in the BMW PGA Championship, with Westwood having come closest when he finished second in 2000.
He said: “They have changed the layout dramatically and to be honest I welcome the changes, because the way I usually play on the course has meant that I have never really had a chance around Wentworth. So any change is a good change for me.
“I think we will now have an even stronger field for what is The European Tour’s flagship event, and that can only be good for the tournament. I would love to win it – the world ranking points on offer are great and the prize fund is one of the biggest in the world, plus it is the Tour’s most prestigious event.”
