Rory McIlroy Will Lead a Field Including Eleven of the World's Top Twenty at Wentworth From Thursday
Shane Lowry arrives at the BMW PGA Championship after winning the Irish Open by a record 11 shots, and eight LIV Golf players are also entered.
The BMW PGA Championship, the DP World Tour's flagship event, starts at Wentworth Club in Surrey on 17 September 2026. The field includes 11 of the world's top 20 players and three of this year's four major champions, led by world number two Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy won the title in 2014 and finished tied 41st at the Amgen Irish Open last week, but said he was encouraged by parts of his game, Sky Sports reported. CBS Sports noted that he has six consecutive top-20 finishes at Wentworth, including three runner-up places.
The Irish Open was won by Shane Lowry, a former BMW PGA champion, who broke Jon Rahm's tournament record with an 11-shot victory. Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Joaquin Niemann are among eight LIV Golf players in the field, which also includes Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick.
Alex Noren is the defending champion after beating Adrien Saddier in a play-off last year. The Rolex Series event offers a $9 million purse, with $1.5 million for the winner, and 8,000 Race to Dubai points. Patrick Reed leads the Race to Dubai. The course is a par 72 measuring 7,267 yards.
The final round is on 20 September. On the same dates, the PGA Tour stages the inaugural Biltmore Championship Asheville at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove in North Carolina, with a $5 million purse. The LPGA Tour is off this week.