Australia’s Scott Hend was the early pace-setter at the European PGA Championship at Wentworth yesterday as he headed the field with an opening seven-under par 65.
Two-time champion Luke Donald also put himself in the hunt with a 68, whilst South Africa’s Jaco van Zyl was in the clubhouse on five-under 67. Hend was out in 31 and had a chance of going even lower but he could only par the final two holes, both par-fives although his birdie putt lipped out at the last from 35 feet (10 metres).
With half the field still out on the course, Hend finished with eight birdies and the only blemish in his round came at the par-four 15th which he bogeyed. Hend, who was out in 31, accelerated after the turn with birdies at the 10th, 12th and 13th but had course specialist Donald breathing down his neck, although the Englishman gave back a shot when he left his ball in a bunker on the 15th.
Hend, who came into the week ranked 85th in the world, won in Thailand in March and a birdie at the short 10th gave him a two-stroke lead over the pack.
Irishman Shane Lowry and Chile’s Felipe Aguilar were both safely home in 69, a shot ahead of Scotland’s David Drysdale.
Former world number one Donald won this tournament in 2011 and 2012 when he was challenging the best in the world, with his first win getting him to the top of the tree for the first time.
He has slumped to 76th and is in danger of missing out on a spot in the European Ryder Cup team for the second time in a row, but a good display at Wentworth could rocket him into the top-50 and contention for the match against the United States and a fifth appearance for his continent at Hazeltine.
“The last two years have been tough and I have struggled to gain confidence but I have felt more comfortable the last couple of months. If you look at history here, playing well in the first round means good things for the rest of the tournament,” Donald said.
Last year’s winner Byeong Hun An of South Korea had a run of four birdies from the fourth, to head the leaderboard, but he dropped four shots in seven holes from the 10th, to slip back to level par, where he finished.
Another Korean, Jin Jeong had a nightmare start to his week when he triple-bogeyed the par-four first, followed up with a double-bogey six at the third and further dropped shots left him at 15-over par with two to play.
Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez, winner here in 2008, slumped to a 78, but there was better news for Simon Khan, the 2010 champion, who was three-under after 17 holes despite two dropped shots in succession.
Italy’s Edoardo Molinari finished with a 72 and Germany’s Maximillian Kieffer was struggling to make the weekend after a 78. Masters champion Danny Willett, Lee Westwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick were amongst the afternoon starters in the European Tour’s flagship event.