A unique BMW PGA Championship wrapped up on Sunday, having been reduced to 54-holes following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday afternoon, prompting round one to be suspended and continued on Saturday morning.
The early week proceedings, like many tournaments this year, were dominated by LIV Golf with a number of the series’ players in the field at Wentworth, but once again like many events this year, it was the golf that did the talking when the weekend came.
Shane Lowry went bogey-free round the West Course to edge out Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm by a single stroke as three of Europe’s 2023 Ryder Cuppers wowed crowds along with another player who will feature on Luke Donald’s side, Viktor Hovland.
It will go down as one of Shane Lowry’s biggest wins, only behind the 149th Open at Portrush in the same league as his WGC-Bridgestone Invitational triumph and Irish Open win while still an amateur.
The week once again showed why the BMW PGA Championship is the DP World Tour’s greatest tournament and there should be calls for it to feature on the PGA Tour schedule in the coming years in a co-sanctioned manner like the Scottish Open.
The fans have cried out for more Americans to play each year and they’ve been coming over much more frequently in recent times, with players including Patrick Reed, Tony Finau, Billy Horschel all supporting the event over the past few playings. There’s surely set to be more next year or in 2024 after Rory McIlroy hinted at future changes to the schedule as the PGA and DP World Tours strengthen their alliance.
It’s very clear that the PGA Tour has seen far more benefits to the strategic alliance as of right now and it’s also clear that the DP World Tour will be seeing the benefits coming in the future – as it would not have signed up with its American counterparts unless there were serious opportunities for its players. For the PGA Tour to not be seen purely as a US Tour, it needs to get its players overseas more and the opportunity with the new strategic alliance means that Wentworth can be a very special week for…
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