McIlroy and Rahm Headline BMW PGA Championship Field at Wentworth
The DP World Tour's flagship event returns to Wentworth on Thursday, with Rory McIlroy leading a 144-man field for the BMW PGA Championship.
The tournament runs from 17 to 20 September on the West Course in Virginia Water, with a cut after Friday's second round.
A Loaded Field
McIlroy arrives as Masters champion and reigning Race to Dubai winner, and with a strong record at the venue. He won the title in 2014 and has added six further top-ten finishes since, including three runner-up placings.
"I've had some great results at Wentworth in the past, and I always enjoy returning to the BMW PGA Championship," McIlroy said. "No doubt the crowds will be out in force once again, and I'm looking forward to the week."
He is joined by a substantial group of his European Ryder Cup teammates. Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood, Ludvig Aberg, Sepp Straka, Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre, Justin Rose and Tyrrell Hatton are all in the field.
Lowry comes in with momentum after winning in Ireland last week. Fitzpatrick will attempt to become the first home winner since Hatton in 2020, with Rose, Aaron Rai, MacIntyre and Marco Penge among the other British players confirmed.
There is a meaningful American contingent too, including Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed, who currently leads the Race to Dubai.
The field contains the winners of three of this year's four majors.
Noren Defends
Alex Noren returns as defending champion, having won his second BMW PGA title last year with a birdie at the first play-off hole to edge out France's Adrien Saddier. That victory came eight years after his first at the venue in 2017 and was the Swede's twelfth on the DP World Tour.
Other former champions in the field include Ryan Fox, who won in 2023 and arrives as the reigning Open champion, along with Lowry, the 2022 winner, and Hatton.
Billy Horschel is a notable absentee. The American won at Wentworth in 2021 and 2024 but has opted to focus on retaining his full PGA Tour status following an injury-affected period and a difficult season.
The Course and the Week
The West Course plays as a par 72 at roughly 7,280 yards for championship golf, finishing with a stretch of par fives that has repeatedly decided the tournament.
The event doubles as a Rolex Series tournament and arrives with the Race to Dubai entering its decisive phase, meaning a strong week carries weight beyond the title itself. Reed holds the lead in that standings race, with several of the players in this field still capable of overhauling him before the season concludes in Dubai.
Straka makes a third appearance at Wentworth, having finished tied tenth alongside Aberg before his Ryder Cup debut in 2023.
Wentworth also stages what organisers call a Festival of Golf around the tournament, with live music scheduled after play. The Kooks perform on Saturday evening and Ella Eyre after Sunday's prize presentation.
