Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Patrick Reed headline a stacked BMW PGA Championship field at Wentworth as the Race to Dubai heats up in England.
The 2026 BMW PGA Championship brings one of the strongest fields of the DP World Tour season to Wentworth Club, with Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood and Patrick Reed all chasing one of European golf’s biggest titles.
McIlroy enters the week looking to add a second BMW PGA Championship trophy after winning at Wentworth in 2014. He’s come close several times since, including multiple runner-up finishes, and says another victory at the famed Surrey layout remains high on his list.
“I’d love to get another win around here for sure,” McIlroy said ahead of the tournament.
He showed why he’ll be a major factor almost immediately. McIlroy fired an unofficial 12-under 60 in Wednesday’s pro-am, then opened the tournament Thursday with a 3-under 69.
He birdied all four par-5s and briefly reached 5 under before three late bogeys slowed his momentum.
Still, McIlroy called the start “encouraging” and said, “It’s just a matter of sticking with it.”
Lowry arrives with even more momentum.
The Irishman dominated the Irish Open last week, finishing 23 under and winning by a record 11 strokes over Patrick Reed and Joaquin Niemann.
It was Lowry’s second Irish Open title and his seventh DP World Tour victory.
Wentworth has also treated him well before.
Lowry won the BMW PGA Championship in 2022 and now gets an immediate chance to turn one of the best performances of his career into back-to-back victories.
“It’s been a mad few days,” Lowry said after his Irish Open triumph, acknowledging the quick turnaround required before another major European event.
Reed has plenty at stake as well. He entered the week atop the Race to Dubai standings and has built an outstanding record at Wentworth, posting four consecutive top-five finishes in previous appearances.
His recent form includes a tie for 11th followed by a runner-up finish at the Irish Open.
The field also includes Rahm, Fleetwood, Ludvig Åberg, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Robert MacIntyre, Tyrrell Hatton and reigning Open champion Ryan Fox.
Wentworth has rarely lacked star power, but this year’s BMW PGA Championship carries extra weight. With the Race to Dubai tightening and several of Europe’s biggest names finding form, the DP World Tour’s flagship event could become one of the defining tournaments of the fall.
