Who to back at the BMW PGA Championship
BMW PGA Championship: Keel’s top tip
Rory McIlroy hasn’t really looked himself since winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Paul Casey has injury worries and Tommy Fleetwood has a poor record around Wentworth. So I’m backing Alex Noren to successfully defend his title – a huge ask, but one that I am convinced that he is more than capable of.
It’s been a much different season for Noren, who has played the majority of his golf on the PGA Tour but a return to British soil – where he has won four of his nine European Tour titles – can spark him back to winning ways.
The Swede has dropped to 19th in the world rankings, but he’s hardly been playing poorly of late. Of the 10 events he’s played this year, he’s finished runner-up once and third twice, and a 17th place at the Players Championship two weeks ago will give him plenty of confidence coming off the back of two missed cuts.
Some will say he’ll be distracted with all that comes with being a defending champion, but I don’t see that happening – Noren has proven himself to be one of the very best players in the world at winning tournaments.
And where better to return to the winner’s circle than here at Wentworth, the scene of his last victory where he fired a sensational final-round 62 to win by two shots.
At 14/1, he is the pick of the market leaders, and he’s the best bet in this field.
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Tom Irwin
Tom is a lifetime golfer, now over 30 years playing the game. 2023 marks 10 years in golf publishing and he is still holding down a + handicap at Alwoodley in Leeds. He has played over 600 golf courses, and has been a member of at least four including his first love Louth, in Lincolnshire. Tom likes unbranded clothing, natural fibres, and pencil bags. Seacroft in Lincolnshire is where it starts and ends.
