BMW PGA Championships, Wentworth Club: Day 3

Spaniard Canizares shoots 68 to lead by 1 shot after third round at Wentworth

A round of 68 was enough to leave Canizares (-9) one shot ahead of Lee Westwood (-8) going into the final round at Wentworth after a sunny day encouraged players to attack the golf course.



Canizares birdied the last two holes on his way to a round of 68 which means he will partner Lee Westwood in the final pairing for tomorrow's play. Westwood looked in superb form as he was on top of both his long and short game to shoot 67. It started well with an eagle on the 5th and a further four birdies whilst a bogey on 16 was the only blip on the Englishman's  scorecard. This was a promising round of golf for Westwood as he looks to add more trophies to his bare cabinet, especially with two major championships just around the corner.

Sergio Garcia (-5) is in contention after a round of 68 left the Spaniard four shots behind alongside the Molinari brothers who are both at -5. Pablo Larazabal enjoyed a bogey free round to shoot 67 leaving him with an outside chance to lift the title. Ernie Els (-3) was unable to build from a decent second round performance as the South African only managed go around in a level par 72. There could be a strong challenge tomorrow from an English quartet that includes Mark Foster, Eddie Pepperell, Richard Bland and Lee Slattery who all ended their third rounds on -5, leaving them four shots off the lead. Henceforth, plenty of players are in contention to win tomorrow which makes for an exciting climax to the tournament.

BMW PGA Championships, Wentworth Club: Day 2

Francesco Molinari (-6) takes a one shot lead at the halfway stage of the BMW PGA Championships at Wentworth. Players struggled through rain, gusty winds and the freezing cold, as well as 18 holes, during a tough second round at the Wentworth club in Surrey.



A superb performance from Italian F. Molinari (-6) carded seven birdies on his way to a round of 68 which even started off with a bogey on the first. F. Molinari will hold a one shot advantage from a group of four players, including Englishman Mark Foster (-5), going into the third round. An impressive run of four straight birdies on the final four holes from Eddie Pepperell (-4) saw the young rookie shoot 66.

Ernie Els (-3) and Lee Westwood (-3) both managed to combat the horrific weather conditions to maintain a strong challenge going into Saturday's third round with Els going round in 68 whilst Westwood shot 71. It seemed Sergio Garcia (-1) arguably faced the biggest challenge as he continues to battle 'TigerGate'. However, the Spaniard held his nerve despite the putter stalling further progress, managing to go round in 71.

With the cut set to be +2, there were some major casualties who were unable to battle the conditions well enough to be able to come back for the weekend. Both Rory McIlroy (+5) and Graeme McDowell (+5) were left to rue poor performances after two rounds at the Wentworth club. A succession of bogeys meant that McDowell would not make the cut whilst McIlroy's driving demons came back to haunt him as hook after hook left the Northern Irishman consistently off the fairways throughout his round. Paul Casey (+4) saw his good work in the first round diminish as a front nine that included five bogeys and one double bogey crushed any chance of making the cut whilst Ian Poulter (+8) could not find any form, posting a second round of 76. Further bad news for Luke Donald (+6), who struggled with a finger injury and illness, could not recover from a poor first round to finish his defence of the title with a level par second round score of 72.

BMW PGA Championships, Wentworth Club: Day 1

James Kingston cards 66 to take clubhouse lead after first round.

A tough opening round at the BMW PGA Championships as the weather proved to be challenging throughout the day whilst the threat of thunder even halted play for approximately 1 hour 30 minutes in the early evening. However, it was South African James Kingston (-6) who carded a superb round of 66, including 7 birdies and 1 bogey, to take a one shot lead into the second round over Mikko Ilonen (-5).



It was a good start to the tournament for some of the victorious European Ryder Cup 2012 winning team members as Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer both finished on -2 after their opening rounds. Paul Casey (70) will be pleased to come back from an injury plagued season to post a score of -2.

After a controversial week continues for Sergio Garcia (E), who has been in a spat with Tiger Woods, an eagle at the last hole to score 70 will boost his confidence going into the second round. Ernie Els (E) and Justin Rose (E) will both feel slightly disappointed coming off the 18th hole as Els finished with a bogey whilst Rose with a double bogey.

There were some poor starts from Rory McIlroy (+2) and Graeme McDowell (+2) as both struggled to combat the tough conditions. McDowell went along nicely with a single birdie and bogey at 10 and 11 respectively but an unwelcome double bogey at 18 meant the Northern Irishman posted a round of 74. McIlroy looked to be in a commanding position as 4 birdies and a bogey left him on -3 going onto the 13th tee. Sadly, a run of 5 bogeys on the last six holes means that McIlroy will be 7 shots behind the leader going into round 2.

It was a sorry start for hotly favoured Luke Donald (+6) and his compatriot Ian Poulter (+4). An eagle and a birdie was not enough to save Poulter's round as seven bogeys left the Englishman down the leaderboard. Similarly, Donald could not recover from a poor start which left him going into the back nine +5. From there it only got worse as a further bogey summed up Donald's disappointing day.

Expect another hard day tomorrow in the second round as similar weather conditions are likely to continue making it tough to score low.

Weekend Preview May 25th 2013

It may be tough coming to the realisation that the Football season has ended in England until it begins in August but worry not as there is plenty of high quality sporting events to divulge in this weekend.

Thursday: Wentworth Golf championship (4 days)
Friday: Second Test Match of England v New Zealand (5 days)
Saturday: Champions League Final and Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying
Sunday: French Open (14 days) and Monaco Grand Prix

BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, Wentworth Club

This tournament is always a good watch as it is one of the most iconic golf courses on the European Tour and made even more spectacular through the participation of the whole winning European Ryder Cup team of 2012. 

My Tip to win: Luke Donald
Donald has experience of winning this tournament. Plus, it strongly matches the way Luke likes to play as it is not the longest course on the tour so straight drives, good iron play and deadly pitching will put you in contention to win on Sunday.

England v New Zealand, Second Test Match: Headingley

After a 170 run victory at Lord's, England will be looking to put in a strong performance to win the series   in preparation for the hugely anticipated Ashes series this summer. With a fantastic bowling display from Broad and Anderson in the First Test, the England batsmen will look to score heavily and spend some time at the crease to cement their Ashes place in the squad.

My Tip to win: England
The England bowling attack are in high spirits and will look to keep the New Zealand to a minimum whilst the batsmen will be keen to score heavily with in-form Joe Root. Apart from the lively bowlers of Trent Boult and Tim Southee, it seems New Zealand will not have enough to stop a strong England side.

Champions League Final: Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund (Wembley)

Ironically, 70 years later Germany will invade London although this time for footballing reasons but don't mention the war! In all seriousness though, this should be a cracking game of football with both teams deservedly in the Final. Bayern thumped Barcelona for seven in their semi-final whilst Dortmund held on in Madrid to win 4-3 on aggregate. 

My Tip to win: Bayern Munich
Two strong teams but it could the German champions who prevail with their experience and attacking power to lift the 2013 Champions League trophy. 

Monaco Grand Prix: Qualifying

The most spectacular race on the Formula 1 calender is this weekend and begins with Qualifying. It is every driver's dream to win on the streets of Monaco and with Mercedes on top in previous Qualifying race weekends this season, I would be surprised if a Mercedes failed to get on the front row. 

My Tip to be on Pole: Lewis Hamilton
Expect tough competition from Alonso and Vettel but with Mercedes dominance in Qualifying I expect Lewis Hamilton to pip team-mate Rosberg to pole position. 

Monaco Grand Prix: Race

As it is one of the toughest races to overtake someone, pole position will be vital. Therefore, whoever is on the front row at the beginning of the race will strongly fancy their chances to win. Concentration is key on these streets but one blip will likely end in a crash. Thus, the Monaco Grand Prix is a showcase for what Formula 1 is all about - Wealth and Fame.

My Tip to win: Nico Rosberg

If Rosberg can get on the front row for the start of the race his steely determination and ability to drive consistently on tough tracks should see him take a valuable Monaco Grand Prix victory.

2013 French Open - Roland Garros

The clay court season comes to a close at the second grand slam tournament of the year. There are always high profile shocks here as top players struggle to adapt to playing and sliding on the clay. Expect classic matches and top quality tennis as the tournament begins on Sunday.

My Tip to win: Mens - Rafael Nadal, Womans - Serena Williams

With the withdrawal of Andy Murray, there will be a chance for someone outside of the top 3 players to make it to the semi's. Expect to see the usual suspects of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic advance to the semi-finals but with Nadal's sheer supremacy at this slam and current form on clay then I expect him to win it yet again.
On the woman's side, this is a tournament that is famously wide open for any woman tennis player to win as top seeds struggle to adapt to clay court conditions. There are always massive shocks throughout but if Serena Williams can maintain her composure then her recent dominance of the woman's game should continue.