BMW PGA Championship 2023: Course and current form stats

• Seven of world's top 20 taking part

• Rested Rahm 8/19.00 can rule Wentworth

• Matt 16/117.00 to continue strong recent form

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Tournament Notes

• The prestigious BMW-sponsored PGA Championship at Wentworth is European golf's equivalent of the PGA Tour's Players' Championship at TPC Sawgrass;

• The tournament used to be staged in late May, but was moved in 2019 after changes were made to the PGA Tour schedule in America. These changes from across the Atlantic adversely affected Europe's chances of attracting leading golfers to Wentworth in May;

• This week's event has attracted a strong international presence, with PGA Tour regulars Billy Horschel, Tom Kim and Adam Scott teeing-up;

• All 12 members of this year's European Ryder Cup team are also here;

• Seven of the world's top 20 will be in attendance this week;

• First staged in 1955, this year's edition will be the 69th;

• The total prize fund is over €8m, with the winners' share greater than €1.3m.

Course Notes

• Wentworth's West Course is possibly Britain's most famous non-links layout, and has been the tournament's permanent home since 1984;

• Famous architect Harry Colt designed the West Course which opened in 1926;

• Since then it has undergone a number of renovations with Ernie Els carrying out a series of upgrades during the past couple of decades;

• The most recent of these took place in 2016, when all 18 putting surfaces were dug up and re-seeded with a new creeping bent grass;

• Four greens were completely re-built, with another five partially re-constructed;

• A new sub-air system was installed below each of the putting surfaces with the aim of making them firmer and faster, while improving drainage;

• A number of putting surfaces had their contours eased, 29 bunkers were removed, while some other hazards were made less severe;

• Water hazards should only be a concern on a couple of holes, while the tight tree-lined fairways remain a good test of accuracy, especially from the tee;

• Good course management is vital on a layout which possesses a handful of tricky dog-legs.

Latest betting for this week's BMW-sponsored PGA Championship

Stroke Averages

Lowest 15 At Wentworth's West Course (2017-22)
Average .... (Rounds)
67.73: Billy Horschel (11)
68.18: Rory McIlroy (11)
69.11: Francesco Molinari (19)
69.26: Shane Lowry (23)
69.27: Masahiro Kawamura (11)
69.36: Viktor Hovland (11)
69.53: Rafael Cabrera-Bello (15)
69.55: Victor Perez (11)
69.94: Justin Rose (17)
70.04: Matt Fitzpatrick (23)
70.20: Sean Crocker (10)
70.21: Shubhankar Sharma (14)
70.48: Richie Ramsay (23)
70.55: Grant Forrest (11)
70.67: Tommy Fleetwood (21)
Min. No. of Rounds = 10
Only those entered this week are included in table

Betfair Sportsbook

PGA Championship Top Tips: Six To Watch

Matt Fitzpatrick 16/117.00: Possesses the accuracy to prosper over the West Course. Two of his last three starts have resulted in podium finishes.

Tommy Fleetwood 16/117.00: Has shown good form since the start of June with six top-10s from eight events.

Shane Lowry 18/119.00: The defending champion returned home last week to stand on the podium at the Irish Open. This was his highest finish since Wentworth last year. Has also finished second over the West Course, which is one of seven top-12s here.

Rory McIlroy 7/18.00: It's been nine years since he won this event, and has also finished second twice.

Jon Rahm 8/19.00: His two West Course appearances have yielded a brace of podium finishes. He didn't enjoy the best of form during the recent FedEx Cup Play-Offs, following his runner-up finish at The Open.

Shubhankar Sharma 175/1176.00: Anyone looking for a higher-priced each-way punt could do worse than select the former world No 64. The 27-year-old Indian tied-ninth here two years ago, and tied-seventh in Ireland on Sunday.

MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves