Willett, Rahm lead at BMW
Englishman, Spaniard at 11 under in Europe
A fast start by Danny Willett and a sublime finish by Jon Rahm helped them into a tie for the second-round lead at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Friday in Virginia Water, England.
Willett was 5 under after his first five holes and rolled in three more birdies in a 7-under 65, lifting the former Masters champion atop the leader board at the flagship event at the European Tour’s headquarters.
The Englishman was soon joined at 11 under by No. 6-ranked Rahm, who hit a 4-iron to 10 feet at the par-5 18th hole and made the eagle putt to complete a round of 67.
“This weekend you’re going to have a real good leader board,” said Willett, who raced to the turn in 29 just like in 2016 when he finished third after sharing the 36-hole lead, “and we’ve put ourselves in a position to be right up there.”
They were two strokes clear of Justin Rose (68), Henrik Stenson (69) and South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout (67), who holed a flop shot over a bunker for birdie at No. 15 in one of the shots of the day.
Paul Casey, a winner at the European Open in Germany two weeks ago, shot 69 and was a further two shots back on 7 under with Billy Horschel, whose 65 tied for the lowest round of the day with Willett.
Among the chasing pack was Viktor Hovland, a 22-year-old Norwegian who now has shot 19 consecutive rounds in the 60s across the PGA and European Tours. A pair of 69s left him in a tie for eighth place.
PGA Tour
Byeong Hun An finished off a 6-under 66 in the morning and posted another 66 in the afternoon to end his long day atop the leader board in the storm-delayed Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Miss. An was at 12-under 132 and had a two-shot lead over a group that included J.T. Poston and Tom Hoge. Because the tournament lost about five hours Thursday due to thunderstorms, the second round could not be completed because of darkness at the Country Club of Jackson.
PGA Tour Champions
Kirk Triplett birdied two of his last three holes for a 4-under 66 in strong gusts Friday to take a one-shot lead after one round of the Sanford International in Sioux Falls, S.D. Triplett, who won in March and leads the circuit with four runner-up finishes this year, was among only four players to have just one bogey on their cards. Scoring at Minnehaha Country Club was so low a year ago that it was the third-easiest course on the PGA Tour Champions. That wasn’t the case on Friday in warm temperatures with gusts up to 30 mph. The average score was 72.12.