BMW PGA Championship - Day one digest

Everything you need to know from day one at the fourth Rolex Series event of the season.

Marcus Helligkilde hit the front, Matt Fitzpatrick was giving chase and Ludvig Åberg was having a dream day in round one of the BMW PGA Championship.

Here is everything you need to know from day one at Wentworth Club.

Helligkilde hits the front

Marcus Helligkilde produced a big finish to open up a two-shot lead after day one. The Dane birdied his final three holes to sign for a 64 and move to eight under, two shots ahead of Scot Richie Ramsay and England's Matt Fitzpatrick. There was then a group of eight players at five under but Helligkilde bettered them all with a somewhat surprising method of preparation. "I did it by hitting it terrible on the range," he said. "I asked my coach what should I do, and he's like, 'yeah, you're probably going to play great'. So that was what happened. I've been playing pretty well since I came out after the break and because of some other circumstances, I haven't been able to practise that much. I haven't been playing practice rounds the last few weeks. It kind of takes the pressure off so that's a good thing."

Fitzpatrick leads Ryder Cup pack

All 12 members of Europe's Ryder Cup team are in action this week and Fitzpatrick was the best of them after 18 holes as he made eight birdies and two bogeys in his opening effort. Ludvig Åberg and Tyrrell Hatton were the next best at four under but Fitzpatrick was keeping his focus firmly on Virginia Water rather than the Eternal City. "It was a good day," he said. "I felt like I played really well, drove the ball really well, just gave myself plenty of chances and putted well. Overall, it was a really solid day. I'm here to try to win this week. I'll start focusing on The Ryder Cup once Sunday finishes. This week we're here to play as well as we can and see what we can do."

Åberg loving life on the big stage

Åberg revealed he almost had to pinch himself as he made his BMW PGA Championship debut alongside Ryder Cup team-mates Viktor Hovland and Rory McIlroy. He made five birdies in a row from the 11th to fly up the leaderboard and challenge for the lead. A double-bogey on the 17th somewhat stalled his progress but he birdied the last to finish at four under and was happy with his day's work after a 68. "It was great," he said. "A little bit more people than I'm used to following me around. It was really fun playing with those two guys. Obviously the level of golf that they can do is pretty amazing and for me to watch that is pretty cool. I was kind of walking around and then almost pinched myself in the arm on the fairways but really enjoyed it and proud of the way I handled it today."

Chase that ace

The crowds are always huge on the uphill par-three 14th and on Thursday they almost saw not one but two aces. First, it was Edoardo Molinari.

Then it was Grant Forrest.

Will we get a perfect shot this week?

Summer has a sting in the tail

It may not have been much of a summer in the UK this year but some of the unwanted remnants of the season were still lingering on the West Course - much to Hatton's dismay.