Rory McIlroy has confirmed his return to the BMW PGA Championship, the first of eight Rolex Series events on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai in 2018.
The former world No 1, who won the title in 2014, will get his first chance to take on the revamped West Course, which underwent an extensive renovation programme before the 2017 BMW PGA Championship, after being forced to miss last year’s event due to a recurrence of a rib injury.
After a strong start to the European Tour season with consecutive top-three finishes in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, it will be McIlroy’s first appearance on European soil in 2018.
‘I’m looking forward to going back to Wentworth,’ said McIlroy.
‘I haven’t played there in a couple of years but from what I’ve seen, with the new grass that they’ve put in, it looks a much better golf course, a much more playable golf course.
‘It was always a great golf course but sometimes it could get very tricky with some of the lies you could get. For them to re-grass the place and for it to look as good as it does is great, and I’m looking forward to playing it.
‘It’s always a good week. If Wentworth gets good weather, and hopefully we do, the crowds are awesome, the golf course is great, and the area is beautiful, so I’m looking forward to going back.’
McIlroy reminded the world of his incredible talent with victory earlier this month in the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour, and he will be hoping to add to his current haul of 13 European Tour titles when he returns to Wentworth, where he has previously tasted success.
He memorably won the BMW PGA Championship four years ago when he came from seven shots behind with a closing round of 66 to finish one shot clear of Ireland’s Shane Lowry on 14 under par. That victory sparked an unforgettable summer for the Northern Irishman who went on to win The Open Championship, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the US PGA Championship, before playing a pivotal role in Europe’s victory at The Ryder Cup in Gleneagles.
‘I’ve had a weird relationship with Wentworth,’ he said.
‘I had the win there back in 2014 but I haven’t really done much else. I think I had a top five back in 2009 but it’s been a place of high frustration for me so I’m looking forward to going back and trying to solve the puzzle again. At least I do have good memories there.’
Aside from marking the return of the Rolex Series on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai in 2018, this year’s BMW PGA Championship holds added significance with Ryder Cup points earned at European Tour events from the BMW PGA Championship until Made in Denmark multiplied by 1.5 on both the World Points List and the European Point List.
‘I’m very much in agreement with what Thomas Bjørn and Keith Pelley have come up with there,’ said McIlroy. ‘You want the in-form players playing on your Ryder Cup team. It doesn’t matter who they are or what they’ve done, so placing a higher importance on those events closer to the Ryder Cup is a good thing and hopefully, I play well in those events and cement my place on the team as quickly as possible.’
McIlroy is joined by British hopefuls Paul Casey and Tommy Fleetwood in the star-studded lineup at Wentworth.
