Wentworth, United Kingdom: World number one Rory McIlroy was left frustrated as Italy’s Francesco Molinari headed the leaderboard at the end of the first day of the European PGA Championship at Wentworth on Thursday.
Molinari carded a seven-under par 65 with no bogeys, finishing with a flourish with birdies at the 17th and 18th — both par-5s — to leave himself two shots in front of Sweden’s Robert Karlsson and six in front of McIlroy, who had a 71.
Karlsson is a shot in front of a clutch of players on four-under, including 2008 winner Miguel Angel Jimenez, another Spaniard in Jorge Campillo, England’s Chris Wood and Korea’s Y.E. Yang.
Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn shot a 69 whilst Luke Donald, triumphant in 2012 and 2013, had a steady 70 to keep himself in the hunt.
Molinari hinted at a return to form with a tie for second place at the Spanish Open last week, but he tumbled out of the world top-50 last October and currently stands 66th in the rankings.
The 32-year-old needs a good finish to boost his chances of playing in the US Open in June, where the top-60 in the world on Monday get exemptions, and July’s British Open at St Andrews, where the top-50 are granted automatic spots.
“I know that the deadline for the US Open and The Open are close and it would mean a lot to have a good week here,” Molinari told reporters. “All season, I’ve been pretty much just outside the top-50, knowing that a good week would get me in again.
“Dropping out of the top-50 didn’t help because it means I need to play more events. I missed the Masters this year and a few majors in a row. So it wasn’t a nice feeling, and I hope to be back very soon.”
McIlroy, fresh from his win at Quail Hollow in the United States last week, had started with a bogey at the par-4 first and was never better than one-under par and could not manage a birdie on the two closing par-5s.
“I felt like I left a couple out there. There’s definitely room for improvement,” said McIlroy.
— AFP