BMW PGA Championship: suspense for the Race to Dubai and the Ryder Cup

The current 17th player in the world, Tyrrell Hatton will play at Wentworth alongside European Ryder Cup captain Pádraig Harrington of Ireland while defending his BMW PGA Championship in the third round of the Rolex Series in the Race to Dubai 2021.

The 29-year-old Englishman will undoubtedly receive a favorable reception at the Wentworth Club, where the public will return in droves after a closed-door tournament in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He will be part of a trio that will start on Thursday afternoon, joined by three-time Majors winner Harrington and Norwegian Viktor Hovland, who will make his Ryder Cup debut, in two weeks at Whistling Straits.

As for American Billy Horschel, former 2014 FedEx Cup champion, he will play his second BMW PGA Championship. Two years after a good fourth place in the western suburbs of London, the 28th in the world will have little hope of obtaining one of the six wild cards for the Ryder Cup, which will be announced this Wednesday at 4 p.m.

The Floridian, on the other hand, will have much more to play on the European circuit, he who appears in fourth place in Race, 1600 points behind current leader Collin Morikawa. Note that none of the three leaders in the standings (Morikawa, Rahm and Oosthuizen) made the trip this week to England.

Tyrrell Hatton, sixth in the Race to Dubai: “It’s a bit surreal to come back and be the defending champion here. First of all, it’s amazing to see the return of the stands and all the players this week. I can’t wait to welcome the fans again and I’m sure they will create a great atmosphere for us this week. The course is in ideal condition. “

“I had the chance to play well during the (Rolex Series). I’m definitely not trying to change my routine or anything. These performances have been a good week for me and I am obviously delighted. “

“It’s obviously a good memory to come back here. I only live 35 minutes from here anyway. I had the good fortune to play here many times when I came back to the UK, so much so that it feels like a bit of a second playing field. ”

“I feel pretty good at Wentworth and hope I can have a good week. I know my form hasn’t been very good over the past three or four months. But I hope I can find something this week and, if I’m on the Ryder Cup team, I hope I can help the team. “

Pádraig Harrington, Ryder Cup captain, European team: “It’s an interesting week. There are obviously a number of players who are 100% qualified (for the European Ryder Cup team) at this point like Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland. “

“I have been told that Tyrrell Hatton is not 100% (qualified). If he’s not here on Sunday (on the team)is that a cataclysm will have occurred. So he’s virtually there, just like Matthew Fitzpatrick and Lee (Westwood). »

“But there are a number of players who can work their way into the squad and a lot of points to play this week. We wanted a bit of suspense at the end and a bit of excitement, so yeah, it’s gonna be an interesting week. “

Billy Horschel, fourth in the Race to Dubai: ” As I have said (last time I played here) two years ago i grew up watching this event on tv. The European Tour started early on TV so I got up early to watch it and loved what I saw, whether it was the course, the crowd, or the history of the event. “

“I’ve always wanted to come here and intended to do so before 2019, but that didn’t happen. When I came here in 2019 it was really cool. I can’t wait to have another great week. “

“Knowing that no American won the Race to Dubai, it would be cool to do that. As a FedEx Cup champion, I wish I could do that too. I have to play well here this week and play well in three weeks at Dunhill Links and then at the end of the year at DP World. “