Fitzpatrick helped by ‘stolen ball’ at BMW PGA

BMW PGA Championship – round one leaderboard

-8 L Aberg (Swe), T ​Vaillant (Fra); -7 C Jarvis (SA); -6 A Rozner (Fra), M Fitzpatrick (Eng), R Ramsay (Sco), J Lagergren (Swe)

Selected others: -5 J Rose (Eng), S Lowry (Ire), V Hovland (Nor); -3 T Hatton (Eng), R McIlroy (NI)

Matt Fitzpatrick believes his ball was stolen during a weather-affected first round at the BMW PGA Championship – but said “it was a good result” that may have helped him to a six-under-par 66.

The Englishman said the incident occurred after he went right off the tee on the 18th hole at Wentworth just as play was suspended for more than 90 minutes because of thunder and lightning.

When play resumed, he was able take a penalty drop rather than playing his provisional ball – which he believed saved him at least a shot.

Fitzpatrick is two strokes behind his playing partner Ludvig Aberg, who is tied for the lead with France’s Tom Vaillant.

“Someone from the public saw two lads running into the bushes, running out with a golf ball and so they can only think it was my ball,” Fitzpatrick said.

“I made a bogey six, but if we’d had to find it, we probably wouldn’t have.

“I’d then have had to play my provisional ball and it would likely have been worse. So, all in all, it was a good result. I’d have preferred rather than steal it, they’d chucked it back out on to the fairway.”

The weather delay on a rain-soaked afternoon left 30 players, including Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, to complete their opening rounds on Friday morning.

With Sepp Straka the only absentee at Wentworth from Donald’s 12-man team for the biennial contest against the United States later this month, Aberg was the pick of his players.

The Swede, playing with Fitzpatrick in a nod towards potential pairings at Bethpage Black in New York, made three consecutive birdies to finish, with the highlight being a 50-foot putt on the 17th, as he drew alongside early starter Vaillant at the top of the leaderboard.

“I felt like once I got on the greens, I was rolling the putter really nice and tried to be aggressive with the speed. I managed to make a lot of putts, which is nice,” Aberg said.

“Any time you shoot that kind of score, I think you need to be good on the greens, and that was what it was today.

South Africa’s Casey Jarvis enjoyed a run of five successive birdies to end up a stroke back on seven under.

Fitzpatrick is among four players a stroke further adrift after a round containing eight birdies, with bogeys on the ninth and 18th holes.

It was a day of mixed fortunes for Rory McIlroy, fresh from his victory at the Irish Open.

The Northern Irishman – playing alongside Ryder Cup team-mates Shane Lowry and Jon Rahm – began with a birdie but bogeyed the fifth and found the water on the final hole to end up five shots off the pace.

Meanwhile, Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland and Lowry – courtesy of a superb approach that set up a tap-in birdie on the 18th – are in an eight-man group at five under.

Two-time major champion Rahm showed his class as he recovered from four bogeys in his opening 11 holes to finish at one under.

There were flashes of brilliance from Tyrrell Hatton as he carded a three-under 69 playing with Robert MacIntyre, who went around in 71, in what could be a fiesty double act for Europe.

Tommy Fleetwood, who recently claimed a first PGA Tour title at the 164th time of asking at the Tour Championship, could only manage a one-over 73 despite having his good friend Rose, who celebrated with him in Atlanta, in his three-man group.

Rasmus Hojgaard, who will be Europe’s only rookie in New York, made two double bogeys as he recorded a two-over 74.