All 12 members of Europe’s Ryder Cup team made the halfway cut when the delayed second round of the BMW PGA Championship was completed on Saturday.
Nine groups had been unable to finish on schedule on Friday evening due to an earlier 80-minute fog delay, with enough players remaining to potentially move the cut mark to two under par.
However, that outside chance failed to materialise, meaning Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Nicolai Hojgaard could breathe a sigh of relief after advancing on the mark of one under.
😰 On the number for me!! https://t.co/drMjoT6Tdx
— Justin ROSE (@JustinRose99) September 16, 2023
The second day’s play at Wentworth had finished amid farcical scenes which saw four groups waiting on the 18th tee as they tried to beat the fading light and complete their rounds.
McIlroy’s group was the last of the four and when he eventually reached the green it was predominantly illuminated by the light from a giant scoreboard, but the 2014 winner two-putted from 45 feet for birdie to scrape through to the weekend.
Asked to describe the late-night drama, McIlroy said: “It was a s***show.
“The fog obviously delayed things but I’ve never remembered having that many players on 17 and 18. It’s not as if they teed us off in tighter slots or anything.
Rory McIIroy waits for the 18th tee to clear on day two of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth (Zac Goodwin/PA)
“It’s hard for me trying to play the last well and make the cut, it’s a bit of a mad dash and a scramble to get finished. I don’t know what you could do about that apart from less players in the field.”
Playing alongside McIlroy, rising star Ludvig Aberg had birdied the last three holes to complete a 66 and join fellow Swede Sebastian Soderberg on top of the leaderboard at 10 under par.
Adrian Meronk, who was controversially overlooked for a Ryder Cup wild card, was a shot behind alongside Tommy Fleetwood, Thomas Detry and Masahiro Kawamura.
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