Rory McIlroy grabbed the early advantage at the BMW PGA Championship as he moved into a runaway lead with Branden Grace lurking at Wentworth, writes WADE PRETORIUS.
Grace cut a frustrated figure on the 18th green after his birdie putt fell away on the low side, a replica of his missed chance on the 16th green. A second consecutive 69 would ordinarily be very good around the Virginia Water course but such was the form of McIlroy that the top-ranked South African is now six shots behind the lead.
After opening with a bogey, Grace made four birdies by the time he reached the 13th tee box. Unfortunately, he failed to kick on and parred his way into the clubhouse in benign conditions.
The same cannot be said for McIlroy, the lowest ranked player in the field, who started with three pars but was -3 for his round as he approached the 12th tee. That’s when he clicked into overdrive and blasted his way past the field with four birdies in a row as he displayed the kind of strokeplay and particularly important for him, the kind of putting, that won him four Majors and took him to the top of the world rankings a few years ago.
Examiner: Define “Pure”@McIlroyRory: Watch this… pic.twitter.com/JEhC7cb4UN
— Compleat Golfer (@CompleatGolfer) May 25, 2018
His world ranking of 8 will be improved upon should he match his opening 36 hole form over the weekend.
Rory’s in the mood that’s for sure #bmwpga pic.twitter.com/SBB7QSYhyl
— Compleat Golfer (@CompleatGolfer) May 25, 2018
Summing up his second round, the Northern Irishman said: ‘That was the best I’ve played this year. My ball striking was really good.’
Between Grace (-6) and McIlroy (-12) there are five players tied for second on -7 including last year’s winner Alex Noren, Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat and overnight leader Lucas Bjerregaard, who is level with two holes to play in his second round.
A 73 for Dylan Frittelli, who played alongside Grace for the first two rounds, saw him drop to level for the tournament as he faces an anxious wait to see if he will be pegging it up this weekend.
Joining Frittelli on even at the midway point and facing an equally nervous wait are countrymen Richard Sterne (68) and Thomas Aiken (72).
Of the later starters, Jacques Kruyswijk started brightly moving from +1 overnight to -2 with three birdies in his opening four holes. The Q School graduate has been impressive on his rookie season on the European Tour as he looks to muscle up his way around Wentworth and into the money this weekend.
