Billy Horschel has made an incredibly bright start as he looks to win the BMW PGA Championship for a second time in his career, with the American shooting a five under par round of 67 at Wentworth.
Billy Horschel finds himself two shots off the lead after the opening day of the BMW PGA Championship, but it was a tough start for the 37-year-old. A wayward tee shot on the first resulted in Horschel putting his approach in the green side bunker and he was unable to get up and down from there.
But that would prove to be the final blemish on his card, with three birdies coming on each nine to leave Horschel in a tie with the likes of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry.
Of course, Horschel knows what it takes to win at Wentworth. He has always been happy to spend a number of weeks playing on the DP World Tour, and he won this particular event three years ago, finishing on 19 under par.
Billy Horschel shares what shocked him after the opening round of the BMW PGA Championship
There is a good opportunity for someone to go even lower this time around. However, speaking after his first round, Horschel suggested that he was seemingly expecting to be further adrift of the leader.
“It was a little challenging. I was shocked by the scores, weren’t as low as I thought. You know, the greens are slower than I’ve ever seen. They are receptive. They got a little bounce to them but the rough is down, so I thought scoring was going to be a lot lower than it was,” he said.
“But when you get out here and you see that the wind is blowing 10, 15, 20 miles per hour at times and it’s gusting a little bit, it’s a little bit of a challenge. I was happy with a solid round of golf. Just try to keep it as simple as I could.”
A better start than in 2021
While Horschel expected the scores to be even lower, it is notable that more than 70 players finished the opening round under par, and thus, you would imagine that being under par may not guarantee a place in the field at the weekend.
A number of players will be fancying their chances of breaking out from the pack over the next three days and seizing the initiative from the tournament.
Interestingly, Horschel actually started with a 70 when he won in 2021, finding himself six shots back of the lead. But 65s on Friday and Sunday saw him get across the line, so he will have his sights set on emulating that performance again after such a promising start.
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