Tournament Preview
Billy Horschel returns to defend his title at the BMW PGA Championship, and has admitted he feels a special affinity with England and its golf fans as he looks to become the first American to win the prestigious Rolex Series event on multiple occasions.
The 35-year-old has an enviable record at Wentworth Club, finishing tied fourth on his debut in 2019 before earning his maiden Rolex Series title last year courtesy of a nerveless one-stroke victory.
Horschel is a West Ham United supporter and even attended their away defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, while he was also briefly joined on the fairways this week by England and West Ham midfielder Declan Rice.
Having become the first American since the great Arnold Palmer in 1975 to win the BMW PGA Championship, Horschel is hoping to once again feed off those good vibes this week. He was also outspoken in his press conference about the 15 LIV defectors who are being allowed to play, asking the question about some of them ""Why are they here ?".. more on that in a minute..
It is also a big week for Luke Donald, not only as a two-time former winner of this event but also as the 2023 European Ryder Cup Captain, as the Qualification Points race tees off in earnest at the Surrey venue.
Jon Rahm is one of those players who will be targeting a place in Donald’s team for Rome next year, and the Spaniard is relishing his return to an event he came close to winning on his last appearance in 2019.
It's a star studded field led by Rory McIlroy fresh off his $18,000,000 win of The FedEx Cup in Atlanta.
However with all the kerfuffle surrounding LIV defections, it''s seems a little more than confusing to see Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer, Talor Gooch, Branden Grace, Richard Bland and Lee Westwood and 7 others all allowed in the field. Apart from Ancer and Gooch, all are stalwarts of the European Tour who jumped ship and signed for more guaranteed millions with the controversial Saudi backed regime.
All are looking for World ranking points which are not awarded on the LIV, and all are being allowed to play until at least February 2023 when a U.K court will decide if they are allowed in DP World Tour events.
Player Quotes
Billy Horschel: "It's great to be back. I love it. I love it here. I really enjoyed my time over here. And to be back and to be the defending champion, and to see the support that I've gotten over the years and what I've already gotten this week, is really exciting. Like I said, it just putts a massive smile on my face thinking about it.
“I can understand why some of the West Ham fans are supportive of me, but the non-West-Ham fans, I can't thank them enough. I felt I've tried throughout my entire career to play the game the way I felt like it should be played and represent myself in the right way and I feel like I've done that.
“To see that the fans over here really appreciate that I travelled this far on numerous occasion to come support their tour, and I think over the years, I have always appreciated how they supported me and I’m thankful for that as well. Like I said, when I think about, it I can't believe I got this much support over here.”
Luke Donald: "I can't believe it's ten years (since his second win at Wentworth) to be honest. But time flies, I suppose. But it's great to be back here. I played every year, and have such fond memories.
“Obviously one of the best moments as an individual came here - eleven years ago in 2011 when I got to Number One in the world and celebrating that victory around family and friends that grew up not too far away from here. It's always been a special week for me.
“It's all getting very real (with the Ryder Cup). It's great to see the points are starting this week and great week for it to start. Excited to see how the guys get going and obviously be playing close attention to players that have played Ryder Cups and players that are kind of on my radar.”
Jon Rahm: “It was my first and only time playing in 2019, and then covid happened. I'm happy to be back. I've spoken many times about how much I like the history of the game and when it comes to the history of the DP World Tour, this event and this venue is very, very important - a lot of great champions.
“I was close the only time I came and I'm looking forward to hopefully giving myself a better chance. But it's a golf course that I enjoy, a very nice area of the country and if we get luckier with the weather than we are right now it should be a very fun week.” |
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