Golf - European Tour - BMW PGA Championship - Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Britain - September 19, 2024 England's Matthew Baldwin reacts after a birdie on the 18th to finish the first round on -7 to take the club house lead Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs
LONDON (Reuters) - England's Matthew Baldwin eclipsed a powerful field to lead the BMW PGA Championship by one stroke after the first round at Wentworth on Thursday.
Baldwin signed for a seven-under round of 65 to top the leaderboard from Denmark's Niklas Norgaard and Belgium's Thomas Detry who carded six-under rounds.
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy was one of 11 players piled-up on five-under although the former world number one will remember his opening round after snapping a club.
McIlroy described it as a "weird feeling" after the bizarre incident in the par-five 12th where the clubhead detached from the shaft of his nine iron while playing his approach.
Incredibly, McIlroy still birdied the hole.
"I hit a nine iron on the ninth and I looked at it and it looked like the ferrule was coming loose, but it was the head attached to the shaft," McIlroy said.
"I didn't realise it when I hit the shot on 12 and it was a weird feeling. You're expecting the weight of the club to pull through and there was nothing there."
McIlroy had a run of four birdies in a row early in his round but an eventful finish saw him go out of bounds at the 18th where he dropped his second shot of the day.
The 38-year-old Baldwin carded seven birdies and no bogeys to snatch the lead.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
