Matt Fitzpatrick’s opening round at the BMW PGA Championship had a bizarre twist after the Englishman claimed his ball was stolen during a weather delay at Wentworth.
The 2022 U.S. Open champion was on the 18th when thunder and lightning halted play for more than 90 minutes. Fitzpatrick had hit his tee shot into the right rough, but when he returned, his ball was nowhere to be found.
“Someone from the public saw two lads running into the bushes and out again with a ball, so we can only think it was mine,” Fitzpatrick explained.
Penalty Drop
Instead of battling through the undergrowth, the incident allowed him to take a penalty drop – which he reckons saved him at least a shot. He went on to make a bogey six and close with a six-under-par 66, leaving him two shots behind playing partner Ludvig Åberg and France’s Tom Vaillant, who share the lead.
“I’d rather they’d chucked it back onto the fairway than taken it,” Fitzpatrick joked. “But in the end, it was a good result.”
Ryder Cup Stars Shine Bright
Åberg, one of Luke Donald’s Ryder Cup stars, underlined his form with a brilliant finish of three straight birdies, including a monster 50-footer at the 17th, to set the early target. With only Sepp Straka missing from Europe’s 12-man Ryder Cup line-up at Wentworth, Donald will be encouraged by what he saw from the Swede – especially with potential pairings at Bethpage Black in mind.
Persistent rain meant 30 players, including Donald himself, were forced to finish their rounds on Friday morning, setting up an intriguing second day at Wentworth.
