The BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth is each the preeminent event on this planet this week whilst additionally serving as a pleasant warmup for the European Ryder Cup team. All 12 member of the European squad, contemporary off a scouting go back and forth to Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome on Monday, will tee it up at Wentworth on Thursday with all however Robert MacIntyre at shorter than 50-1 odds, in line with SportsLine consensus, to win the event.
Obviously, the event is headlined via Viktor Hovland, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, via a ways the 3 preferrred gamers within the box and winners of 13 occasions international over the past three hundred and sixty five days; alternatively, the European team contains the highest seven favorites to win the event this week.
- Viktor Hovland: 13/2
- Rory McIlroy: 7-1
- Jon Rahm: 8-1
- Tommy Fleetwood: 12-1
- Matt Fitzpatrick: 16-1
- Tyrrell Hatton: 18-1
- Shane Lowry: 20-1
“As I said to somebody earlier, it’s an amazing month to have ahead of you,” Lowry mentioned final week at the Irish Open. “Obviously, this week is our fifth major and … I do treat it like that, and then I’m defending at Wentworth, which is one of my favorite events.”
Last 12 months, Lowry held off Rahm and McIlroy via one shot to win at 17 below, which, so far as finishing to tournaments cross, is up there. It additionally marked the second-to-last time Lowry completed within the best 10 in an event till his T3 final week in Ireland. He is discovering shape, it sort of feels, at the most productive conceivable time for his teammates and the worst conceivable time for the U.S. facet.
“Then buildup for the Ryder Cup the week after that,” mentioned Lowry. “Yeah, it’s kind of dream stuff and something that I’m looking forward to the challenge the next few weeks, and very excited for what it could bring.”
There are different tales to practice, as neatly. Can Hatton to find one thing after a nasty neglected reduce in Ireland and a in large part tepid run since this summer time? Will Fleetwood capitalize on his nice play with the largest win of his profession? Do 3 directly best 10s for Fitzpatrick result in a victory?
How will Ryder Cup learners Ludvig Aberg and Nicolai Hojgaard fare of their first begins since getting the nod from captain Luke Donald? Aberg is grouped with McIlroy and Hovland in Round 1, whilst Hojgaard will get Padraig Harrington and Victor Perez. They’ll each have a large number of eyes on them given the jobs they will play in Rome right here in a couple of weeks.
Further down the checklist, Sepp Straka and MacIntyre will likely be below some scrutiny this week, too. Straka was once a captain’s pick out, and his hot-and-cold run of golfing is evidenced via the stretch observed under.
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MacIntyre completed T50 at this event final 12 months and is most certainly the participant at the European facet with the least firepower. That’s to not say he would possibly not be nice in Rome, handiest that he’s the least feared of the 12 from an American point of view (because of this he’s going to most certainly win this week).
But the event — and maximum tournaments nowadays, most likely even together with the Ryder Cup — rotates round the ones best 3. That McIlroy has received the least of the bunch over the past three hundred and sixty five days must be telling for the reason that he has been the second-best statistical participant on this planet throughout that span.
All 3 completed within the best 5 right here final 12 months. All 3 will likely be referred to as upon again and again for Europe at the Ryder Cup. All 3 have performed arguably the most productive golfing in their careers in 2022. It’s if truth be told unexpected that there’s no longer extra distance between Rahm at 8-1 and the fourth-shortest participant within the box (Fleetwood at 12-1).
While all 3 will likely be a number of the heaviest hitters at Marco Simone when the festivities get underway in simply over two weeks, it is onerous to consider a greater situation for the Ryder Cup total — rather than possibly Justin Thomas profitable the Fortinet Championship this week — than considered one of them profitable as soon as once more going into Rome.
Whether that occurs continues to be observed, however it is a super alternative for no longer simply the ones 3 however all 12 European Ryder Cup golfers to get one final rip at a really perfect golfing direction with an incredible custom prior to the forty fourth version of the most productive team event in golfing.