Andy DevaneyAaron Rai and Joakim Lagergren reached six under by rather different routes at Wentworth, while a heavyweight chasing pack ensured there is precious little breathing room at the BMW PGA Championship.
Six under par at Wentworth usually suggests a golfer spent the afternoon strolling around with the serenity of a man choosing curtains. Aaron Rai and Joakim Lagergren would probably dispute that.
The pair share the lead at the BMW PGA Championship after opening 66s on the West Course, but neither came away pretending the business had been straightforward. Rai had weather, swirling wind and a late visit to the water to negotiate.
Lagergren went one better in the self-criticism department, shooting six under while insisting he had not been particularly close to his best.
That is an awkward message for everybody behind them.
Rai Gets Moving Before Wentworth Can Interfere
Starting from the ninth under the two-tee arrangement, Rai wasted no time. Four birdies in his opening six holes gave the World Number 18 the sort of start that makes a difficult golf course temporarily seem quite reasonable.
Temporarily being the important word.
His only bogey came at the par-four 16th, but the response was immediate: a birdie at 17, followed later by further gains at the second and seventh.
“Really pleased overall. Conditions were pretty tricky,” Rai said. “We had a lot of rain during that warm up. But by the time it started, the wind had stopped, so that helped to start really well.”
The early scoring was useful, but perhaps more revealing was what happened when the round became untidy.
Rai, who claimed his maiden Major at the US PGA Championship in May, has already had a year in which rather larger prizes have been placed in front of him. At Wentworth, the first-round challenge was less grandiose but no less familiar: make the good golf count and prevent the poor positions from becoming expensive.
He managed both.
One Wet Finish, No Damage Done
The eighth threatened to put an irritating stain on an otherwise excellent card.
Rai took driver, as he had during the previous two days, but found the conditions rather less cooperative. The wind was stronger than expected, the fairway firmer, and his tee shot eventually ran into the water.
Golf has a charming habit of punishing decisions that appeared perfectly sensible about three seconds earlier.
Rai escaped from the drop zone with an up-and-down for par.
“Nonetheless, extremely pleasing to make par there. A bit of a difficult way to finish.”
It preserved his 66 and completed a round containing seven birdies against a single bogey.
The problem at Wentworth, he explained, is that judging the breeze can become an exercise in informed suspicion.
“I think it’s always a little bit of a guessing game (the wind). A lot of holes are very tree-lined and the trees are very tall, as well, so it’s always swirling around.”
Lagergren Finds 66 Without Finding His Best
Lagergren arrived at the same total with considerably less satisfaction about the state of his golf.
The Swede collected three shots across his first five holes before surrendering one immediately before the turn, reaching halfway in 33. An eagle at the 12th pushed the round forward again, with birdies at the 14th and 18th completing his 66 in his tenth appearance at the event.
That is generally the point at which players are invited to describe how beautifully everything clicked.
Lagergren declined.
“Scored really well today so I’m happy with that,” he said. “I feel like I wasn’t at my best today, if that’s okay to say after a minus six, but I feel like I have still work to do.”
It is difficult to argue with six under, although golfers have been trying to argue with perfectly good rounds since somebody first gave them scorecards.
For Lagergren, the wider significance is clear. Qualifying for the play-offs remains firmly in his thoughts.
“Yeah, that would be huge (qualifying for the play-offs). I love those playoffs events in the Middle East. So looking forward to securing that spot with some good play.”
The Chasing Pack Is Already Crowded
Neither leader has earned much room for experimentation on Friday.
Ryan Gerard sits one shot behind after making six birdies and a bogey, while Adam Scott, Ludvig Åberg and Nacho Elvira also reached five under after dealing with the windier afternoon conditions.
Another shot back is a group with sufficient pedigree to discourage anybody from feeling comfortable: Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed, Champion Golfer of the Year Ryan Fox and eight-time PGA Tour winner Viktor Hovland are all at four under.
That leaves the BMW PGA Championship nicely compressed after the opening round. Rai produced the cleaner story, building momentum early and protecting it when trouble arrived. Lagergren produced perhaps the more intriguing one, reaching the same number while spotting plenty he would still like to repair.
Wentworth has not separated them yet.
Judging by what is gathered immediately behind, it may have to work rather harder on Friday.
