David Law out to make most of his 'big bonus' in BMW PGA Championship
Aberdonian off to promising start at Wentworth along with Bob MacIntyre and Ewen Ferguson
David Law, who is off to a strong start along with Bob MacIntyre and Ewen Ferguson, is determined to make the most of earning a welcome opportunity to tee up in the $9 million BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth as he battles to hang on to his DP World Tour card.
In order to allow more members to play in the circuit’s flagship event, an additional six spots were added this year, with a two-tee start being implemented at Wentworth to accommodate the new field size of 144 players.
Law, who sits 108th in the Race to Dubai Ranking and needs to finish inside the top 100 to hang on to his card, was one of the lucky six, finding out at the weekend that he’d climbed above the cut-off line.
Delighted to be making a seventh appearance in the Rolex Series event, the Aberdonian opened with a three-under-par 69 on the West Course to sit handily-placed at the end of the first round.
“I was always aware of it,” said Law of the field being increased this year, “but, on the entry list, I was always just outside the cut-off point. I think it was Saturday in Ireland when I discovered I was in here and Ireland was the same. Yeah, this week and last week as I wasn’t expecting to get into last week either. So it’s a big bonus to get into the two of them.
“I don’t normally play Crans (venue for the recent Omega European Masters), but I did this time because I thought I was going to have these two weeks off. So this is now my sixth event in a row, which is a lot, but I am going to play until my season is done. So it could be 11 in a row.”
That’s a big stint for someone who has three young kids at home in the Granite City. “I’m very lucky at home, where (wife) Tasha does a great job and, in fairness, the kids are understanding as well,” he said, smiling.
Law, who signed for four birdies and one bogey, finished 14th here in 2021. “Obviously going better than that this year would be really helpful,” admitted the 35-year-old of his battle to keep a seat at the top table. “It’s a course I like. I tend to putt well here and feel quite comfortable on the golf course, so here’s hoping for more of the same.”
Helped by six birdies, including three on the spin from the fourth on his back nine, Ferguson matched Law’s effort, with MacIntyre ending the day as the top Scot as he finished birdie-birdie to sign for a 68, which left him just two behind the leaders, Englishman Aaron Rai and Swede Joakim Lagergren.
“Yeah, solid,” reported the Oban man of his day’s work. “When I teed off, I was like ‘here we go, this is going to be a real battle’. But I managed to play a decent round of golf overall. I’ve not been feeling too comfortable with my game, to be honest. But, after getting up and down at the first, I kind of settled into it and started hitting nice tee shots and nice shapes and trusting everything I have been doing. I played solid overall.
“A big priority here is off the tee - I get told that all the time. The guys who drive it the best normally do the best round here. I feel like I am hitting it quite a bit shorter just now as I feel I’ve got quite a lot of spin on my driver. But it is going reasonably straight, so I am not too bothered about that.”
At both the 17th and 18th, MacIntyre, who was in the same group as defending champion Alex Noren and Ryder Cup team-mate Ludvig Aberg, made his birdies after laying up. “It was a nice finish,” he admitted. “I just played the right shots. For instance, I could have got it on the green in two at 17. Instead, I poked it up short left and gave myself a chance to make up and down.
“Then, at the last, I am sitting there between a 4-iron and rescue. If I mis-hit a 4-iron, it would have been in the water and a rescue would shell me over the green. So I just felt it was the right thing to do. I was glad, to be honest, when Mike [Burrow, his caddie] agreed that it was a lay up.”
Aberg fared best of the trio with a 67 to sit in a group that also included former Masters champion Adam Scott while Noren, a two-time winner here, opened his latest title defence with a 71 that included an outrageous flop shot at one hole. “It’s Alex Noren,” said MacIntyre, smiling. “Those shots are no brother to him. He just opens the face up , swipes across it. It is unbelievable at times. There was one out of the bunker he hit beautifully as well.”
Calum Hill, who is the highest-placed Scot in this year’s Race to Dubai, opened with a 71, having been four under through six holes and leading at that point before running up a triple-bogey 7 at the seventh. “That was compounded by a bad decision,” he said afterwards. “I was left off the tee and it ended up on the bank in the hazard but not in the hazard. I could see it and it was like ‘I could probably hit this’ and get it up to the side of the green.
“But it snagged, hit a tree and went into the trees. From there, I tried to hit it out but hit another tree and stayed in the trees and then didn’t get up and down after going through the green with the next one. Everything else was really good. My iron play was really good and I putted nicely. I think I did a decent job today after my setback.”
On a day when two-time major winner Jon Rahm slumped to a 78, Nexo champion Scott Jamieson (73), Connor Syme (75) and Grant Forrest (78) are also heading into the second round facing a battle to make the cut after sluggish starts.
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