Kiradech Aphibarnrat carded seven birdies in a stunning back nine at Wentworth Club to take as share of the first round lead at the BMW PGA Championship - the third Rolex Series event of the 2021 Race to Dubai. The 32-year-old from Thailand has struggled to find the kind of form which has earned him four European Tour titles, but he reignited the flame on the West Course's famous back nine. Five birdies in succession were complimented by back-to-back birdies at the 16th and 17th, earning him an eight under 64 and a one-stroke advantage. He was joined at the top by South Africa's Christiaan Bezuidenhout, the three-time European Tour winner carding an eagle at the par five fourth hole and picking up birdies on the final three holes to sign for his 64. Adam Scott is one shot back on seven under par after a 65, which included eight birdies, with the Australian making a happy return to the prestigious event after 15 years away. Justin Rose, who requires a win this week to seal an automatic qualification place in Pádraig Harrington's European Ryder Cup team, started strongly with a five under 67 to share fourth place with his English compatriot Laurie Canter and Japan's Masahiro Kawamura. Shane Lowry is the man who currently occupies the final qualification spot, and he enjoyed a steady opening 70, while Bernd Wiesberger - who has the strongest chance of breaking into the team in the final week of qualification - signed for a one under par opening 71. Play was suspended overnight due to darkness, with four groups remaining to complete round one. Player Quotes Kiradech Aphibarnrat: “It was incredible, to be honest, my putter worked very well today, a lot of good ball-striking, tee-to-green it was lovely. I think I had a couple missed shots, especially the last hole, I was trying to catch at the ball make sure it get over the rough. But I caught it a little bit too thin. But I holed a long par putt which is fantastic. "I just want to come out here and enjoy every single minute that I spend on European Tour. It feel like every time I come back it just feels like home. I feel comfortable over here. I see some friends, see my coaches, and it's a lovely golf course. I enjoy it every time I come back to Wentworth." Christiaan Bezuidenhout: “I drove the ball lovely today, so I just kept it in play. Gave myself a chance, and the putter was good. “Had a nice chip-in on 4 which makes my round solid. But, yeah, three birdies in a row, back-to-back par-5s to finish off, which is tricky also. “I spoke to my coach last week, and I just said everything is there. Everything with my game feels better than a year ago, but I'm not getting the scores or the results. So, it's just a matter of staying patient out there. It's not always going to go well. You're going to go through a little bit of blips and bumps, things like that. But, I just stayed patient and luckily it's been paying off.”

Kiradech Aphibarnrat moved into the outright lead at the BMW PGA Championship, the third Rolex Series event of the 2021 Race to Dubai, where the race for Ryder Cup qualification was hotting up heading into the weekend. The three-time European Tour winner from Thailand had shared the first round lead after an opening 64 and followed that up with a solid 68 to move to a 12 under total, one stroke clear of Englishman Laurie Canter, who carded a 66, and Francesco Laporta, who came in with a 65 in the final group of the day. Adam Scott of Australia was in fourth place on ten under after a 69, while Justin Rose was one of three players in a share of fifth place on nine under, the Englishman chasing a victory which would guarantee his place on Pádraig Harrington's European team for the Ryder Cup in two weeks' time. Shane Lowry and Bernd Wiesberger, meanwhile, both improved on their opening round performances with impressive second rounds as they each target a Ryder Cup debut at Whistling Straits. Irishman Lowry - who requires a strong result to secure his place on the plane to Wisconsin - carded a six under 66 on Wentworth Club's famous West Course to move to eight under, while Wiesberger signed for a five under 67 for a six under total as he attempts to jump into the automatic qualifying spots in the final counting event. Player Quotes Kiradech Aphibarnrat: “I'm really proud of the way I'm playing in the first two rounds. A lot of good stuff in there. This golf course - you can hit a lot of birdies but it can hurt you if you're out of position. I tried to play for more fairways, more greens. My putter was rolling well this week and I’m really pleased. “I just go out there and really enjoy the moment - I play freely and swing it well, striking the ball well, and enjoying every second. I didn’t have any expectation in my head the whole day. “I don't want to set a goal to be honest (for the weekend). I just want to go out there and swing, do what I've been doing the first two rounds. Do the same thing I'm doing, try to hit fairways, greens. Whatever the result, at the end of the day, I just accept.” Laurie Canter: “I just played pretty solid, really. Hit it pretty well off the tee, in the correct spots on time and into the greens, just a question of being patient and getting the putter to work for you, which it did today. “Honestly if I knew (what the difference is this week), I would tell you, but I don't. It's golf. I don't think there's much of a difference between playing well and not, it's not much. If you're out here, you're capable of shooting a low number. I think sometimes just getting up-and-down at the right time, hitting the green at the right time, all that kind of stuff and momentum is huge.”

Francesco Laporta is in pole position to make his maiden European Tour win a Rolex Series title at the BMW PGA Championship, but the Italian has a bunched leaderboard lining up behind him heading into the final day, with several of them vying for a place on Pádraig Harrington’s European Ryder Cup team. The 30-year-old carded a three under 69, which included an eagle at the par five fourth, to move to a 14 under total and edge one ahead of Englishman Laurie Canter, who signed for a two under 70. Amongst those a shot further back on 12 under were former FedEx Cup winner Billy Horschel and 2013 Masters Champion Adam Scott, while 2019 Open Champion Shane Lowry and two-time Rolex Series winner Bernd Wiesberger were both on 11 under par heading into the final day. Lowry and Wiesberger are both one low round away from sealing automatic qualification to the Ryder Cup, while Justin Rose would need to come from five strokes back to get the win he requires to move into the automatic qualification spots – the former U.S. Open winner sits on nine under par. Lee Westwood is also in danger of slipping out of the automatic qualification places for Whistling Straits in two weeks’ time – the former World Number One will be targeting a low final round at Wentworth Club while having one eye on the results of Lowry and Wiesberger. Player Quotes Francesco Laporta: “The last few holes I was like - just be patient and focus shot-by-shot - that was what I was thinking, and I played solid. “I'm feeling more relaxed. Last week (in Italy) was by far more pressure on me. Anyway, I got my card for sure and I feel more comfortable now and actually I'm playing better. My goal is just to finish Top-50 (in the Race to Dubai). “It will be tough (tomorrow). It will be tough, but I like to be under pressure. This is what we play for. And the crowd is amazing. Just looking forward to playing tomorrow and seeing all the crowds.” Bernd Wiesberger: “I’m just focusing on trying to win the golf tournament. You have to push forward and be positive in your approach over every single shot regardless of the outcome. Just be positive with that and I kind of feel like I'm good enough to be on the leaderboard. It's nice to be there as well and it's such a great event with the crowd and to be able to play here and just enjoy it. “It's a marathon, not a sprint. Didn't get off to the best of starts, nevertheless we hung in there, grinded it out, especially end of the first day to get under par. That was mentally important to knock that in on the last. It meant a lot at the end of the first round. Kind of set the tone for yesterday and today. “I stayed patient waiting for my opportunities and played aggressive when I had an opportunity and smart when I was out of position. Everything feels really good and I enjoyed my time out there and really looking forward to tomorrow.”

Viktor Hovland returns to the BMW PGA Championship for his second appearance at Wentworth Club, hoping to continue his strong run of form at the third Rolex Series event of the 2021 Race to Dubai, as he prepares for his Ryder Cup debut in two weeks’ time. The Norwegian earned a top five finish in the PGA TOUR’s season finale, the Tour Championship, last week and also won in his last appearance on European soil at the BMW International Open, so he his brimming with confidence heading into the week at Wentworth. The 24-year-old having already secured his place in the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, where he will make his debut under Captain Pádraig Harrington, but there are numerous players in the field who still retain hopes of joining him on the European team which hopes to retain the trophy on American soil. Former World Number One Justin Rose is one of those players hoping to force his way onto the team - the Englishman needs a win to qualify automatically – while Shane Lowry is targeting a result which would rubber-fasten his place on the team - the Irishman currently occupies the final automatic spot. Player Quotes Viktor Hovland: “I can't believe it's already been two years since I was last year. It's a beautiful place and the weather so far is unbelievable. Look forward to having a great championship. “It's been a lot of traveling the last two or three months. Definitely feeling it just moving around all the different time zones, but I've been loving it, every second of it and I feel like my game is trending in the right direction. “I had a great week last week and put a different set of irons in the bag which I played earlier in the year, and I had a great week with the irons. I feel like I'm still hitting the irons pretty good. If I can just hit the ball in the fairway I'm going to give myself a lot of chances to make birdie.” Justin Rose: “Obviously it's been a stunning start to the week with the weather and obviously people have turned out today. I think it feels like sort of Wentworth of old from that point of view, people are really excited to be out. “It's an event that I've always loved coming back to play because of the support that you get, sort of for me this feels like my sort of local boyhood home tournament, one that I dreamt about playing as a young boy and obviously one day having an opportunity to win. Haven't managed the last part yet but I've been close a few times. It’s really nice to be back at Wentworth with what feels like full crowds and the sun shining. “So Wyndham, came back sort of immediately got into practice mode. Just wanted to try to keep up the momentum I felt like I gained there on my game. I had to head back to the States for the Payne Stewart Award that I was very kindly given, which was great but also put a bit of dent in the salute preparation for this. Turned into a five-day trip and what-have-you. I've had all attention on this. And working on my game really.”

European Captain Pádraig Harrington tonight selected Sergio Garcia, Shane Lowry and Ian Poulter as his three picks to complete his 12-player team for the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, in Wisconsin, from September 21-26. The trio join the nine automatic qualifiers – Paul Casey, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Lee Westwood and Bernd Wiesberger – who earlier today confirmed their spots in the team at the conclusion of the extended qualification campaign at the BMW PGA Championship, the European Tour’s third Rolex Series event of 2021. Garcia and Poulter have been central to Europe’s recent success in the biennial contest, with a combined total of 15 previous Ryder Cup appearances between them, collectively contributing an impressive 40½ points to the European cause. Meanwhile, Lowry, the 2019 Open Champion, will be making his Ryder Cup debut, joining Hovland and Wiesberger as the three rookies in Team Europe. "I'm really happy with my team," said Harrington. "It's a great team for foursomes and fourball play, a lot of good ball-strikers and it's a team going to Whistling Straits that is well-suited to the golf course. It's a strong, well rounded, and very balanced team." Spaniard Garcia will be hoping to extend his record as Europe’s all-time leading points scorer when he makes his tenth Ryder Cup appearance. The 2017 Masters Champion made his Ryder Cup debut in 1999 and, aside from 2010, has been a constant presence in the blue of Europe. He claimed three points at Le Golf National, Paris, in 2018 to take his career tally to 25½ points, surpassing Sir Nick Faldo’s previous benchmark of 25. “It feels amazing,” said Garcia. “Obviously it's been a good year and I think a lot of solid play on my part. Unfortunately I fell a little short of making it by myself but I'm so happy to have the confidence of the vice captains, of Captain Harrington, and I can't wait to see the guys and just get going.” Like Garcia, Englishman Poulter also boasts a formidable Ryder Cup record. Poulter will make his seventh Ryder Cup record appearance at Whistling Straits and he is undefeated in the Singles, having contributed 15 points overall. He was part of the European Teams which triumphed on American soil in 2004 at Oakland Hills and Medinah in 2012. “To be standing here with the trophy in front of me to know we're going to go again is amazing,” said Poulter. “Seven Ryder Cups is stuff that you can only dream of. It's incredible. This trophy has meant a lot to me through the years. “For Paddy to call me today and say I want you as part of my team, it's emotional. It's a stacked team. I'm excited. I'm proud. My chest has been getting work the last few weeks, trying to do as many press-ups as I possibly can and hole as many putts as I possibly can to bring as many points as I can to this team.”