Shane Lowry returns as defending champion after last year's one-shot win over Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm at Wentworth; All 12 of Europe's team will feature at the BMW PGA Championship ahead of the Ryder Cup in Rome from September 29-October 1
Wednesday 13 September 2023 15:24, UK
Team Europe will have an opportunity to test out some potential Ryder Cup pairings during the opening two rounds of the BMW PGA Championship.
All 12 of Europe's Ryder Cup team are in the field for the Rolex Series event at Wentworth, live on Sky Sports from Thursday, having made the trip from a scouting mission to Marco Simone Golf Club earlier this week.
Captain Luke Donald was joined by his vice captains in Rome, with four of his five assistants in the field for this week's event and able to take a closer look at the Ryder Cup-focused groups included in the draw for the first two days.
Rory McIlroy makes a seventh consecutive appearance for Team Europe, with the Northern Irishman teeing it up alongside new FedExCup champion Viktor Hovland and rising star Ludvig Åberg - who received a captain's pick after winning the Omega European Masters earlier this month.
Shane Lowry returns as defending champion after last year's one-shot victory over Jon Rahm and McIlroy, with the Irishman silencing doubters about his captain's pick with a tied-third finish last week at the Horizon Irish Open.
The former Open champion has been grouped alongside Austria's Ryder Cup debutant Sepp Straka and Tommy Fleetwood, who won four points in his 2018 debut and also featured at Whistling Straits.
Rahm plays alongside former Wentworth winner Tyrrell Hatton, with Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard completing that threeball ahead of his rookie appearance for Team Europe later this month.
Justin Rose is back in the Ryder Cup fold after failing to qualify for Padraig Harrington's side in 2021, with the Englishman teeing off alongside compatriot Matt Fitzpatrick and Scotland's Robert MacIntyre.
0825 Padraig Harrington (Irl), Victor Perez (Fra), Rasmus Hojgaard (Den)
0840 Rory McIlroy (NIrl), Ludvig Åberg (Swe), Viktor Hovland (Nor)
0850 Adam Scott (Aus), Tom Kim (Kor), Billy Horschel (USA)
0900 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Shane Lowry (Irl), Sepp Straka (Aut)
0930 Luke Donald (Eng), Edoardo Molinari (Ita), Francesco Molinari (Ita)
1240 Jon Rahm (Esp), Nicolai Hojgaard (Den), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng)
1250 Justin Rose (Eng), Matt Fitzpatrick (Eng), Robert MacIntyre (Sco)
Sky Sports will have extended coverage from one of the highlights of the golfing calendar, with Featured Group action available from all four rounds and over 35 hours of live golf throughout the tournament.
Featured Group coverage starts at 8.30am each day on Sky Sports Golf, ahead of the full coverage beginning from midday for all four rounds. Coverage runs until 6pm from Thursday to Saturday and 5.30pm on Sunday, with extended highlights also available each day.
Watch the BMW PGA Championship throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Thursday with Featured Groups from 8.30am ahead of full coverage from midday on Sky Sports Golf.
Live coverage from the opening day of the Ryder Cup begins on Friday September 29 from 6am on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour, DP Tour, Ryder Cup and more with NOW.
