Baldwin equals PGA Championship record to extend lead

BMW PGA Championship leaderboard

-13 Baldwin (Eng); -11 Norgaard (Den); -10 Rozner (Fra)

Selected: -9 Manassero (Ita), McIlroy (NIr); -8 Horschel (USA); -7 Hall (Eng), Fleetwood (Eng), MacIntyre (Sco), Wilson (Eng); -6 Pepperell (Eng), Sullivan (Eng), Armitage (Eng), Rai (Eng), Bradbury (Eng), Lowry (Rol)

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England's Matt Baldwin will return a two-shot lead into nan 3rd information of nan BMW PGA Championship aft equalling nan tourney grounds complete nan first 2 rounds astatine Wentworth successful Surrey.

He changeable 66 aft his opening 65 for 13 nether par, matching nan halfway grounds group by Ireland's Paul McGinley successful 2008.

Baldwin, 38, was moving arsenic a transportation driver only 3 years agone and says he had been adjacent to quitting nan athletics connected aggregate occasions.

"I had 3 aliases 4 months moving astatine Amazon driving a van, conscionable to spot maine done nan wintertime earlier nan Challenge Tour started successful 2022," said Baldwin.

"I learned a batch from that. I learned that location are different things that I could do successful life, but I besides learned that I really wanted to play golf."

Denmark's Niklas Norgaard is 2nd connected 11 nether par, pinch France's Antoine Rozner a changeable further back.

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy is tied-fourth connected 9 nether aft adding a information of 68 to his opening-day 67.

Play was suspended for 77 minutes because of nan threat of lightning earlier successful nan day, pinch Baldwin having conscionable holed from 25 feet for par connected nan 16th earlier nan siren sounded.

Baldwin played inferior play pinch chap Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, who is six shots down connected 7 under.

"I don't deliberation we ever lost. We played a batch of play increasing up, graduated nan aforesaid twelvemonth from Challenge Tour and evidently played a small spot retired here," said Baldwin.

"Our paths person gone somewhat different but hopefully I tin drawback him up."

McIlroy, meanwhile, came into nan week connected nan backmost of a heartbreaking nonaccomplishment successful nan Irish Open, wherever he narrowly missed retired connected a first master triumph connected location ungraded to Rasmus Hojgaard.

"It's really important [to play well] but besides it's nice. I wouldn't person liked nan week disconnected to conscionable wallow successful self-pity if I hadn't played," said McIlroy.

"To travel backmost retired and get consecutive backmost connected nan play course, and play a mates of coagulated rounds to springiness myself a chance astatine different really large tournament, intends a batch to me, I thought it was important to do that and thankfully I have."