BMW PGA Championship leaderboard
-7 Baldwin (Eng); -6 Detry (Bel), Norgaard (Den)
Selected: -5 Armitage (Eng), Bradbury (Eng), Horschel (USA), Sullivan (Eng), McIlroy (NIr), MacIntyre (Sco) Lowry (RoI); -4 Willett (Eng); -3 Rose (Eng) +7 Molinari (Ita)
Rory McIlroy finished the first round of the BMW PGA Championship two shots behind Englishman Matthew Baldwin despite a day full of calamity at Wentworth in Surrey.
On the 12th hole, McIlroy’s eight-iron clubhead went flying off mid-swing, but the former world number one still ended up putting the ball within 10 feet of the pin on his way to a birdie.
The Northern Irishman also had to hit a putt left-handed, saw his tee shot on the 17th bounce out of the trees and went out of bounds on his approach to the 18th.
The 2014 champion and last week’s Irish Open runner-up finished with a double-bogey to finish on five under par.
On a day of low scoring, leader Baldwin, who won his first DP World Tour title in South Africa last year, carded seven birdies in a bogey-free 65.
The 38-year-old from Southport holds a one-shot lead over British Masters winner Niklas Norgaard and Belgium’s Thomas Detry.
McIlroy’s 67 was matched by Ryder Cup team-mates Shane Lowry and Robert MacIntyre, with England’s 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett a shot back on four under.
