Matthew Baldwin produced a flawless performance to leave the big names in his wake and lead by one shot at the BMW PGA Championship.
The Englishman may have started the day under the radar at Wentworth Club, but his rivals and fans will know his name now after climbing to the summit at seven under.
He was one of only two players to keep a clean card on the first day of the flagship event on the DP World Tour schedule – the other was Frenchman Jeong weon Ko – and Baldwin held his nerve to roll in his seventh birdie at the last to take the outright lead.
It is his first round lead since the 2018 Soudal Open as he sits one clear of Denmark’s Niklas Nørgaard and Belgian Thomas Detry.
“It was lovely. I feel like my game has been pretty strong for a while and to actually put it into a performance is nice, a nice positive,” Baldwin said.
“I stayed patient. I got off to a good start which obviously then you gain momentum. I holed a few nice putts and I hit it close when I needed to.
“It’s definitely been coming. My game’s been strong for a while, results haven’t always shown that and I’m quite good at getting in the way of myself. I think today I’ve tried to be as calm and positive as I could.
“It’s great, this is the tournament as players we all look forward to. It’s a great week on and off the golf course. It’s a pleasure to be here.
“I’ve proved I can shoot a good number and hopefully let’s do it again.”
Nørgaard had set the daunting clubhouse target of six under after mixing seven gains and one dropped shot as he continued his love affair with English golf courses.
The 32-year-old claimed his maiden DP World Tour title at the Betfred British Masters earlier this month and maintained his recent fine form in Surrey.
He joined McIlroy and Frenchman Victor Perez at the summit when rolling in his seventh birdie at the penultimate hole, but the pair bogeyed the last to slip one adrift.
Baldwin made his move at the 2nd when he stuck his tee shot to four feet for his first gain of the day before getting on the par-five 4th in two to improve further.
The 38-year-old rolled in from 18 feet to climb to three under and finished his front nine with another birdie from eight feet.
A fifth birdie came at the 13th from six feet and when he stuck his approach into the 16th green inside three feet, he was co-leader alongside Nørgaard and Scotland’s Grant Forrest.
Forrest made a rapid start by making four birdies and an eagle through eight holes before trading two more gains and two bogeys on the back nine. However, he found the water with his second shot at the last to card a double-bogey and drop back to four under.
Baldwin was nerveless, though, as he laid up at the par-five 18th and produced another classy shot into the green to four feet, which he rolled in to top the leaderboard.
Detry made a fast start by birdieing the 1st, 2nd and 4th, and added another at the 9th to reach the turn at four under.
He dropped his first shot at the 11th, but picked it back up immediately at the next. Another bogey followed at the 15th, only for the Belgian to finish his first round with a hat-trick of birdies to join Nørgaard at six under.
Eleven players were at five under, with McIlroy and Perez sitting alongside French pair Ko and Ugo Coussaud, Ryder Cup stars Robert MacIntyre and Shane Lowry, English trio Marcus Armitage, Dan Bradbury and Andy Sullivan and former winners Billy Horschel and Matteo Manassero.
South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence shared 15th position on four under after a round of 68 that included five birdies and a bogey.
Defending champion Ryan Fox battled to one under, while Germany’s Hurly Long recorded the 26th hole-in-one of the season when he aced the 197-yard 5th hole with a seven iron.
– Edited report from DP World Tour
Photo: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
