BMW PGA Championship: Rory McIlroy birdies final hole to avoid cut as Ludvig Åberg shares lead at Wentworth

Rory McIlroy makes crucial birdie under pressure at final hole to avoid cut at Wentworth; Ryder Cup pick Ludvig Åberg in share of lead with fellow Swede Sebastian Soderberg on 10 under; watch round three from Wentworth live from 10.30am on Saturday on Sky Sports Golf

Highlights from the second round of the BMW Championship at Wentworth.

Rory McIlroy battled chaos and darkness at the final hole to ensure the entire Ryder Cup team made the cut in the BMW PGA Championship.

Following an 80-minute delay due to early-morning fog, the second day’s play at Wentworth finished amid farcical scenes which saw four groups waiting on the 18th tee and Thomas Bjorn exchanging words with a drunk spectator up ahead on the closing hole.

With the 18th green predominantly illuminated by the light from a giant scoreboard, Mcllroy two-putted from 45 feet for birdie to finish on the projected cut mark of one under par.

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Players battled chaos and darkness at the final hole of the BMW PGA Championship after slow play left players waiting until almost 8pm to finish their rounds.

McIlroy’s passage to round three was confirmed when the final groups completed their rounds on Saturday morning.

The four-time major champion’s playing partner Ludvig Aberg continued his brilliant form by sharing the lead with fellow Swede Sebastian Soderberg on 10 under.

Rory McIlroy found water at the eighth hole of his second round at the BMW Championship, leaving him in danger of missing the cut

McIlroy said: “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.

“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.”

Ludvig Åberg shines as he chips in his shot from an awkward spot on the edge of the green for a birdie!

Soderberg had earlier made an eagle on the 18th to complete a superb 64 and set the clubhouse target which was matched by Aberg, who birdied the 16th, 17th and 18th in his 66.

The Swedish pair enjoyed a one-shot lead over Adrian Meronk, Tommy Fleetwood, Thomas Detry and Masahiro Kawamura, with Tyrrell Hatton on seven under and Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick another stroke back.

‘Just outrageous’

Former Ryder Cup-winning captain and Sky Sports commentator Paul McGinley said: “This is absolutely outrageously slow. There’s got to be some draconian measures made throughout the world, it’s not just here. It’s just outrageous.

“Baseball has revolutionised itself by putting a shot clock in play. We have it in tennis. We have it in other sports. I know it’s more difficult to do in golf but something seriously has to be done.”

Padraig Harrington took a seat, while Rory McIlroy was also forced to wait as slow play hampered the second round of the BMW Championship.

Meronk calls for change to Ryder Cup selection process

Meronk said last week he was “shocked, sad and angry” not to receive a pick from Europe captain Luke Donald, especially after winning his third DP World Tour title in the space of 10 months in May’s Italian Open at the Ryder Cup venue on the outskirts of Rome.

“I have accepted it,” the 30-year-old Pole said at Wentworth.

“The first couple of days after were tough, but I have moved on and am focused on my game. I want to finish the season strongly and that is my only goal now.

Tyrrell Hatton explains how he went to the toilet before making an eagle on the fourth hole at the BMW Championship

“I know it’s easy to say, but it’s like having a bad round and letting it go. This one was a little bit tougher to accept because it wasn’t based on me and someone else made that decision.

“I definitely think it is wrong. I feel I’ve deserved it. I feel I’ve shown in the last two years that I’ve played really good on the DP World Tour. If you look at the results and the numbers, I thought it was enough, but there’s nothing I can do now.

“But I have been pretty good at accepting things in my career. I’m trying to turn all that disappointment and anger into motivation, especially this week.”

Polish golfer Adrian Meronk last week described his disappointment of missing out on Ryder Cup selection.

Meronk, who received shouts of encouragement in Polish as he completed his round, believes the captain having six wild cards is too many and that one should be held back until after the end of the DP World Tour’s flagship event.

“I’d say that four would probably be reasonable and I think leaving one or two picks for these big tournaments would be a good idea,” he added.

“This time the team has been picked basically after a four-week break and then playing two small events. I think one spot should be reserved after this week at least.”

Wayne Riley had a camera on his head as he followed Rory McIlroy’s group at the BMW Championship

Rahm looked in danger of missing the halfway cut when he thinned his second shot on the first into the face of a fairway bunker and ran up a double bogey, before also dropping a shot on the third.

However, the Masters champion responded with an eagle on the fourth, chipped in to save par on the sixth and covered his last 10 holes in six under par.

“None of those swings felt bad, it was just an unfortunate thing to happen on the first but you have put it on the fairway around here,” said Rahm, who carded a closing 62 here last year to finish runner-up for the second time in two starts.

Sky Sports’ live coverage of the BMW PGA Championship continues on Saturday with Featured Groups from 10.30am ahead of full coverage from midday on Sky Sports Golf.

Live coverage from the opening day of the Ryder Cup begins on Friday September 29 from 6am on Sky Sports Golf, while live programming begins on Monday September 25. Stream the PGA Tour, DP Tour, Ryder Cup and more with NOW.

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