Ahead of the 2022 BMW PGA Championship, golf commentator Dominik Holyer previews the penultimate Rolex Series event of the 2022 season which features Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland in a world-class field at Wentworth Club.
The BMW PGA Championship is one of the most exciting weeks of the year. A lot of British fans have grown up watching the tournament on television or coming to watch at Wentworth Club. The famous West Course has undergone several incarnations over the last few years and it is now a proper championship course. There doesn’t appear to be a massive amount of rough around the course and that is for obvious reasons, we’ve hardly had any rain in this part of the world over the last four to five months and that might make the course a little more open than it has done in the past.
The last four or five winners have all had fantastic storylines since the launch of the Rolex Series. It is a top championship with a Major Championship-quality field that reliably sees the best emerge to the top and claim victory, like was the case 30-40 years ago when we had Sir Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam and Bernhard Langer winning at Wentworth. With this being an annual stop on the Tour, this event has a special resonance for fans of golf.
If you are a Rory McIlroy fan, you would just love him to win every tournament he plays. He is such an exciting player to watch and a great ambassador for our game. Statistically, a facet of his game that has improved remarkably this season is his approach game. Since the Masters Tournament he has improved by ten feet in terms of his proximity to the pin from 50 to 125 yards. You could not have a better storyline than for Rory to win. That said, it is a testament to the quality of the field that there are so many other stand-out players in with a strong chance of victory.
Personally, I would love to see Matt Fitzpatrick win. It has already been a special year for him with victory at the U.S. Open. He has a good record at the West Course, having never missed the cut in his six appearances. Being a Major Champion now he has grown as a player since the couple of occasions when he finished in the top ten in 2018 and 2020. He is also coming in slightly under the radar which could work to his benefit.
Alongside Fitzpatrick, the other player who I think would chime with a lot of fans out there if he were to win at Wentworth would be Shane Lowry. He has a fantastic record here, runner-up in 2014 and several other top tens too. Last year he came to Wentworth and had to put in a good performance to seal his spot on the Ryder Cup team which he did. Along with some other players he admitted the pressure was almost unbearable. So, under that pressure to have finished tied 17th, I think he proved a lot to himself. If there are breezy and rainy conditions, then you would certainly put Lowry on a list of players that would have slight advantage over others in terms of being able to keep the ball low.
Another great storyline which could emerge is a fifth Rolex Series victory for Jon Rahm, becoming to the first player to do so in the process. This is his first time back to Wentworth since 2019, when he finished as the runner-up behind Danny Willett. By Jon’s standards this has been an average year, so I would imagine his motivation will be high.
The tournament marks the start of the Ryder Cup qualification process and is a great opportunity for players to win a lot of points early on. A strong performance would send a signal to Team Europe Captain Luke Donald that you have a spot at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club at the forefront of your mind. Some players have the mindset that qualification will take care of itself while others like Thomas Pieters are very open in saying that making the team is their primary objective.
Ewen Ferguson is in amazing form with two victories so far this season and he has really impressed me. This is his first appearance at the BMW PGA Championship. It remains to be seen whether that will go against him this week. History suggests that experience around this course is beneficial because it is strategic challenge. Adrian Meronk is another player who will be looking to make an early impression. His historic victory in Ireland will certainly see him come into the week with confidence but this tournament provides him another opportunity to prove he is among the world’s best.
Everyone knows that the par five 18th is a pivotal hole at the West Course. Along with the par five 17th, it provides plenty of interest for the fans and ensures nothing is decided over the weekend until the end of the day. The exciting finishes we have seen over the years at this event is largely in part down to the final two holes both being par five. I can’t think of many championship courses that finish with back-to-back par fives.
Whenever golf comes to the British Isles, the fans turn out in their numbers. The atmosphere at The Open at St Andrews throughout the week was brilliant. The support Rory received when he got going alongside Viktor Hovland on the Saturday was certainly something I won’t forget. We also had good crowds at The Belfry for the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett and now comes this eagerly anticipated event. There is certainly something about the British fans and how they recognise that there is a fantastic crop of talent from our shores but also the global players in the game.
The BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth has in recent years made great efforts to provide extra activities during the tournament week to encourage new audiences to attend and broaden the experience for fans. The whole BMW Village lends itself to the week being a festival of golf which encourages families to come along and gets kids involved. I’d certainly see it as being an innovative event and the fans have reacted to the effort that is made in organising a championship of this calibre.
