Wet Wentworth brought a low score and a long day in the opening round of the 2025 BMW PGA Championship, with LudvigÅberg and Tom Vaillant sharing the top spot on the leaderboard after posting the 64S. Given the stop-and-go nature of the round, not everyone was able to walk the par 72, but the star group of Rory McIlroy, John Rahm and Shane Raleigh were one of those sneaking up inside the clubhouse as the sun was setting above.
Oberg is a notable name at the top of the 8-under leaderboard, but it turns out that the Swedes are drafting another European Ryder Cup teammate from Matt Fitzpatrick. Duo 2 played the imaginary four balls at 13 under in two weeks until the 2025 Ryder Cup.
“We’re great. (Matt) a great guy,” Åberg said. “It’s very easy to be around him and you can chat about all sorts of things that aren’t related to golf. That’s always great. Today was a day when we both managed to get pretty good.
Fitzpatrick’s compatriot Justin Rose continues to drink from the youth’s fountain and puts another sensational effort into it. The recent FedEx St. Jude Championship winner, Rose, signed 67 late with three birdies on the final four holes.
“It felt a bit difficult to come out. I don’t know if it was morning or not. I felt it was quite wet under my feet,” Rose pointed out. “It took me a while to find my rhythm today, but I started playing much better on my back and actually had some good chances. I hit a good iron shot. It took advantage of 17. This is a good hole to get a good tee shot. That.”
The energy was good for the morning group, but the afternoon waves were a bit lacking. Facing disadvantaged situations and delayed weather, people leaving the golf course later that day worked well to keep in touch with the fast pacesetters.
Laurie looked out little by little, but he proved to be Roman from the popular trio. The 2022 Championship winner evenly played his first 11 holes before smashing five birdies into the cards in his final seven holes, pulling them into the cry of the leader’s ears. As Rahm flourished, Rahm tried his best to suit him.
Similarly, disappointing with his early play, the Spaniard surged after dropping four strokes into his first 11 holes. He was able to claw his red figure thanks to birdie turkeys from No. 15-17, and find water on the par-5 finisher to make sure he kept it like that.
At the bottom of the water danger lined up in the 18th green, Rahm’s golf balls were joined by McIlroy’s golf balls. Rory couldn’t save Pah and could not put sourness in the Northern Irish mouth, given the quality of his rounds throughout the day. McIlroy, who reached 4 under on two par 5s to play, no. He missed a short birdie chance at 17 and finished a bogey at 3 under from the middle of the 18th fairway.
Other notables who enjoy a solid first round include Aaron Rye, Marco Penge, Harry Hall and Matsuyama Hideki. Liv Golf members Patrick Reed and Tom McKibbin got even worse with Adam Scott and Tyrrell Hatton finishing at 2 under.
