The famed West Course at Wentworth Club has been given further steel for this year’s BMW PGA Championship, but perfect weather for Thursday’s opening round meant that birdies were in plentiful supply.
In all, the 156-man field produced 520 birdies and 19 eagles with the 538 yard par five 18th being the easiest hole, as it played to a par of 4.587.
The hardest hole was the 465 yard third, which played a full half a stroke worse than its par (4.54). It saw only four birdies compared to 74 scores of bogey or more.
In total, fifty-one players finished the day in red figures with the six under par 66s carded by Justin Rose and Paul Broadhurst setting the new course record for the refined 7,320 yard layout, after the 2006 Championship was subject to preferred lies.
The average 18 hole score for Thursday’s first round was 73.133.
Rose’s card of eight birdies and two bogeys matched his best score in the BMW PGA Championship, which the Englishman achieved during the second round in 2004, while Broadhurst bettered his by one.
Broadhurst, who has now played 51 rounds in the Championship, had previously carded 67s in 1991 and 1999.
