Ryder Cup adds to excitement as Shane Lowry prepares title defence at Wentworth

It will be hard to match last year’s BMW Championship at Wentworth from an Irish perspective with Shane Lowry beating Rory McIlroy (and Jon Rahm) by a shot to the title in the DP World Tour’s flagship event.

Both players go into this week’s tournament in form again with Lowry tied third at the Irish Open last week and McIlroy leading the tournament through 62 holes before an uncharacteristically error-strewn finish saw him fall outside the top 10. They are joined by Pádraig Harrington and Tom McKibbin in the field, as well as all members of the European Ryder Cup team.

The 12 members of Team Europe will play together for the first two days across four groups, Lowry with Tommy Fleetwood and Sepp Straka and McIlroy with Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland – a possible hint of Ryder Cup pairings in Rome in two weeks’ time.

The team went on a scouting mission at Marco Simone on Monday, where McIlroy teamed up with Fleetwood but lost 3&2 to Aberg and Hovland. It was the first time McIlroy had played with the young Swedish star Aberg, who won the European Masters at Crans-Sur-Sierre to seal his place in the team two weeks ago, and he said he exceeded his expectations.

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“Everyone talks about what a great driver of the golf ball he is, which he is. The ball-striking is incredible,” admitted McIlroy.

“But I was really impressed with his wedge play and how he can control his trajectory with shorter clubs. I was on the bandwagon before and I’m certainly at the front of it now.”

McIlroy, who played with former Real Madrid footballer Gareth Bale in the pro-am, said Wentworth brings back good memories for him as a winner in 2014.

“It is always nice coming back to venues where you have good memories, whether it is winning or competing against people,” McIlroy told Sky Sports.

“I used to come here as a kid and watch the World Matchplay, I watched Tiger, O’Meara, Sergio, Monty, Ernie, all the greats of European golf and world golf.

“I came second to Shane last year, I keep saying to him though if that tournament was four rounds [the tournament was reduced to 54 holes due to Queen Elizabeth’s death] I would have got him. We will give it to him, he was happy.

“It is a place where I have fallen in and out of love with in terms of the golf course. It makes you play in a certain way and once you accept that you can play well.”

Lowry has a fine record at Wentworth, apart from his win last year he has a second place and three other top 10s while he has not finished outside the top 20 since 2016.

“I’ve always loved coming here and to come back here as defending champion, it’s a tournament that you always want to win as a European golfer. It’s one that’s on your list at the start of every year that you definitely want to play and in, and you want to try and win. It’s one of my favourite places in the world.”

Philip Reid’s Lowdown

Purse: €8.35 million (€1.45m to the winner)

Where: Virginia Water, Surrey, England

The course: The West Course – 7,267 yards, par 72 – was originally designed by Harry Colt (first played in 1926) although in recent years the Burma Road layout has undergone two renovation projects conducted by Ernie Els (firstly in 2005 and more recently in 2017) which involved extensive re-bunkering, lengthening of a number of holes and a complete overhaul of all 18 greens (with creeping bent grasses) to bring them up to USGA specifications. Els called it a “delicate balancing act” in seeking to stay true to Colt’s original design philosophy while also trying to make it a modern day examination. However, winning scores of recent years – 20-under by Danny Willett in 2019, 19-under by Tyrrell Hatton in 2020 and 19-under by Billy Horschel in 2021 – would suggest players will always find a way to go low. Shane Lowry held off Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy to win by one stroke last year, with a total of 17 under. The finishing stretch of two par-fives on the 17th and 18th offer that dramatic risk/reward element for the tour’s flagship event.

The field: Well, timing is everything isn’t it? The tour’s flagship event comes two weeks ahead of the Ryder Cup which is perfect for Luke Donald who has all 12 of his European team playing at Wentworth. Three of them – Rory McIlroy (2), Jon Rahm (3) and Viktor Hovland (4) are inside the world’s top five. In what looks like a clear case of team bonding, all 12 European players are in groups together.

Quote-Unquote: “I’ve always loved coming here and to come back here as defending champion [is special]. It’s a tournament that you always want to win as a European golfer. It’s one that’s on your list at the start of every year, that you want to try and win,” – Shane Lowry on defending his title.

Irish in the field: Pádraig Harrington is in a group with Victor Perez and Rasmus Hojgaard (8.25am), Rory McIlroy is grouped with Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland (8.40am), Shane Lowry is in a group with Tommy Fleetwood and Sepp Straka (9.00am) and Tom McKibbin is in a group with Haotong Li and Guido Migliozzi (11.55am).

Betting: Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland are joint favourites starting out at 7-1 with Jon Rahm rated an 8-1. Shane Lowry has great history around the West Course and was a fancied 14-1 shot when he won last year. He is available at 18-1 which makes him a decent shout. There is each-way value to be found further down the odds with Thriston Lawrence at 90-1.

On TV: Live coverage on Sky Sports main event from 8.30am.