BMW PGA Championship tee times as Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry hunt huge payday
Both Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy as well as Pádraig Harrington will be in action at Wentworth this week for the BMW PGA Championship
by Oisin Doherty · Irish MirrorRory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Pádraig Harrington form a three-strong Irish contingent that will compete at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth this weekend.
The biggest DP World Tour event in England boasts a stacked field featuring a slew of major champions including Danny Willett, Adam Scott and Justin Rose all competing to take home a cut of the $8.1 million prize fund. Play begins on Thursday, though the pro-Am took place today with the likes of Tom Holland and Andy Murray showing off their skills on the course much to the delight of fans.
For McIlroy, this weekend represents another opportunity to get back into the winner's circle. The Holywood star has had a number of near-misses this season, and while many may expect last week's Irish Open heartbreak to rank close to his major mishaps, McIlroy claims that he wasn't effected too much by the second placed finish at Royal County Down.
READ MORE: Justin Rose has his say on Ian Poulter being Europe's next Ryder Cup captain
READ MORE: Jordan Spieth gives his take on PGA Tour's LIV Golf talks after Tiger Woods meeting
“I’m glad for the opportunity to get back on the horse again,” McIlroy said at Wentworth, where he won the title in 2014. "I think there may be a misconception that it hit me harder than it maybe did. You know, I didn’t really feel like I necessarily lost the tournament. I felt like Rasmus went out and won it – shot 31 on the back nine.
“So yeah, I shouldn’t have missed the green right on 15 and I misjudged the first putt on 17. But looking back on Sunday and the support of the crowds and that scene on 18 and everything, it was amazing to be a part of.
“Obviously just trying to look for the positives in all of it but happy to be here at Wentworth, the sun is shining, there’s not many better places to be.
“My game is feeling like it’s in pretty good shape and I feel like I have another chance to win a really big tournament that means a lot to me.
“It feels like quite a long time since I won at Quail Hollow back in May, and I’ve come close here a couple of times. I was second to Francesco (Molinari) in 2018, second to Shane (Lowry) in 2022.
“My form at this tournament over the last few years has been very good so it would be nice to just get another win on the board.
“It would just be wonderful to give myself another chance. Every Sunday that I get myself into contention is an opportunity but also a day to test myself and learn from the good, the bad and everything else.”
McIlroy struggled with a nagging cough during his pre-tournament press conference and revealed the culprit was his daughter Poppy.
“I’m OK, I feel a bit better than I was (on Tuesday),” McIlroy said.
“Poppy’s had a cough for a couple weeks, gave it to me last week. Started feeling pretty rough Monday, Tuesday so went to the doctor, on a course of antibiotics and I feel, energy-wise, better than I did (on Tuesday).
“I’ll be a bit wheezy this week but nothing I can’t handle.”
While all eyes will be on McIlroy, Shane Lowry will be hoping Wentworth continues to be kind to him. The Offaly native won the event ahead of Jon Rahm and McIlroy in 2022, and finished second behind McIlroy eight years ago.
Tee times for BMW Championship round one
| 07:00 | 1 | 1 |  HILL, Calum |  JORDAN, Matthew |  STRYDOM, Ockie |
| 07:10 | 1 | 2 |  FORSSTRÖM, Simon |  KNAPPE, Alexander |  SADDIER, Adrien |
| 07:20 | 1 | 3 | RAMSAY, Richie | BROWN, Daniel | BACHEM, Nick |
| 07:30 | 1 | 4 | COUSSAUD, Ugo |  THORNTON, Simon |  ZANOTTI, Fabrizio |
| 07:40 | 1 | 5 |  LUITEN, Joost | KIEFFER, Maximilian | RAVETTO, David |
| 07:50 | 1 | 6 | PAUL, Yannik | SMITH, Jordan |  HILLIER, Daniel |
| 08:00 | 1 | 7 | BAIRSTOW, Sam |  MCKIBBIN, Tom |  MOLINARI, Edoardo |
| 08:10 | 1 | 8 | WILLETT, Danny | HARRINGTON, Padraig |  WIESBERGER, Bernd |
| 08:20 | 1 | 9 | HALL, Harry |  NORGAARD, Niklas |  HUBBARD, Mark |
| 08:30 | 1 | 10 | OLESEN, Thorbjørn | PEREZ, Victor | MALNATI, Peter |
| 08:45 | 1 | 11 | MCILROY, Rory | ROSE, Justin | FOX, Ryan |
| 08:55 | 1 | 12 | MACINTYRE, Robert | SVENSSON, Jesper | LOWRY, Shane |
| 09:05 | 1 | 13 | PAVON, Matthieu |  SCOTT, Adam | STRAKA, Sepp |
| 09:15 | 1 | 14 | BJÖRK, Alexander |  HISATSUNE, Ryo | MANASSERO, Matteo |
| 09:25 | 1 | 15 | FERGUSON, Ewen | CANTER, Laurie |  CAMPILLO, Jorge |
| 09:35 | 1 | 16 | ELVIRA, Nacho | NORRMAN, Vincent | WILSON, Oliver |
| 09:45 | 1 | 17 | LACROIX, Frederic | FRITTELLI, Dylan | WHITNELL, Dale |
| 09:55 | 1 | 18 | LONG, Hurly | GUERRIER, Julien |  SHARMA, Shubhankar |
| 10:05 | 1 | 19 | WIEBE, Gunner | COETZEE, George | DE JAGER, Louis |
| 10:15 | 1 | 20 | VEERMAN, Johannes | DEL REY, Alejandro | SORDET, Clément |
| 10:25 | 1 | 21 | HANNA, Chase | SCHNEIDER, Marcel | SCHAPER, Jayden |
| 10:40 | 1 | 22 | DANTORP, Jens | MANSELL, Richard | ARMITAGE, Marcus |
| 10:50 | 1 | 23 | FORREST, Grant |  WU, Ashun | CROCKER, Sean |
| 11:00 | 1 | 24 | SOUTHGATE, Matthew | FISHER, Ross | WARING, Paul |
| 11:10 | 1 | 25 | GUMBERG, Jordan | GAVINS, Daniel | NEMECZ, Lukas |
| 11:20 | 1 | 26 | BRADBURY, Dan | CLEMENTS, Todd | VAN DRIEL, Darius |
| 11:30 | 1 | 27 | OTAEGUI, Adrian | SYME, Connor | BALDWIN, Matthew |
| 11:40 | 1 | 28 | ROZNER, Antoine | WINTHER, Jeff | SCHMID, Matti |
| 11:50 | 1 | 29 | SHINKWIN, Callum | DEAN, Joe | LANGASQUE, Romain |
| 12:00 | 1 | 30 | SIEM, Marcel | LARRAZÁBAL, Pablo |  DETRY, Thomas |
| 12:15 | 1 | 31 |  KIM, Si Woo | LAWRENCE, Thriston | MOLINARI, Francesco |
| 12:25 | 1 | 32 | FITZPATRICK, Matt | FLEETWOOD, Tommy | AN, Byeong Hun |
| 12:35 | 1 | 33 | RAI, Aaron | HØJGAARD, Nicolai | HORSCHEL, Billy |
| 12:45 | 1 | 34 | WALLACE, Matt | NOREN, Alex | HØJGAARD, Rasmus |
| 12:55 | 1 | 35 |  VÄLIMÄKI, Sami | MIGLIOZZI, Guido | HOSHINO, Rikuya |
| 13:05 | 1 | 36 | SÖDERBERG, Sebastian | DONALD, Luke | FITZPATRICK, Alex |
| 13:15 | 1 | 37 | CABRERA BELLO, Rafa | JAMIESON, Scott | SULLIVAN, Andy |
| 13:25 | 1 | 38 | PEPPERELL, Eddie | SCRIVENER, Jason | TARRIO, Santiago |
| 13:35 | 1 | 39 | KATSURAGAWA, Yuto | ARNAUS, Adri | LI, Haotong |
| 13:45 | 1 | 40 | MORRISON, James |  COCKERILL, Aaron | LAW, David |
| 13:55 | 1 | 41 | HIDALGO, Angel |  GREEN, Gavin | PAVAN, Andrea |
| 14:05 | 1 | 42 | KO, Jeong weon | KINHULT, Marcus | HUIZING, Daan |
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.