Molinari Still Ahead at BMW PGA Championship; McIlroy Misses Cut


Francesco Molinari remained atop the leaderboard through 36 holes of the BMW PGA Championship. After starting with a 7-under 65, the 32-year-old Italian carded a 69 Friday to reach 10-under 134 at the European Tour major, which began Thursday at the Wentworth Club in England.

Following two bogeys in his first three holes, the three-time winner in Europe rebounded with five birdies the rest of the way for a one-stroke edge over South Korea's Byeong Hun An, who fired the low round of the day, an 8-under 64.

"I'm really happy," Molinari told the European Tour's website. "The start is really tricky the first three holes. I think I played them okay. My chipping wasn't good enough on the first and on the third to save par. I managed to steady the ship and made a few birdies coming in at the end, so a good day.

"Obviously I'm delighted to have gone a little bit further under par from yesterday and just need to keep doing the same. I know how hard I've been working the last few months, so it's nice to see that it's paying off on the course."

An, a 23-year-old graduate of the Challenge Tour, posted eight birdies during a flawless outing. "I hit 17 greens, and the missed green, it was a good shot but just missed the green," said An. "I hit it really solid today. I didn't have any putts over 30 feet to be honest and every putt was a birdie chance."

Trailing Molinari by two are Argentina's Emiliano Grillo, who recorded a 7-under 65, and Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee, who shot a 66. One stroke further back is the winner of last week's Spanish Open, James Morrison, who also carded a 66. A couple of veterans, Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez and Sweden's Robert Karlsson, are tied for sixth at 138 following a 70 and 71, respectively.

Grillo carded five birdies, two eagles on the par-5 12th and 18th holes, and a pair of bogeys. "I am enjoying the moment and playing well and being in contention is what I need. If I keep knocking someone is going to open the door," said the 22-year-old Grillo, who's seeking his first European Tour title and has been playing well with two top-10s in his past three starts.

"I've been looking for a win since I turned pro and it's going to come soon. There's a lot going on when you are in contention and you have to be prepared. Playing well definitely pushes the confidence up and it's nice to be on the leaderboard every week. This is a big week, the flagship event of the European Tour and it would be great to win."

McIlroy Makes Early Exit

The big news Friday was the missed-cut by No. 1-ranked Rory McIlroy. The 26-year-old Northern Irishman came to England off a dominant seven-stroke victory at last Sunday's Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina.

But the tournament's defending champion didn't bring that level of excellence to Europe, posting rounds of 71 and 78 to miss the cut of 145 by four strokes.

With just two birdies against six bogeys and a double on the par-4 11th when his tee shot went OB, McIlroy was off form all day, particularly early on the back nine when he went 4-over on four holes. "That little stretch killed me," McIlroy said later.

Next up for McIlroy is the Irish Open at Royal County Down, which starts Thursday and is hosted by his foundation. "I'd love to have played the weekend but it's a weekend off I probably need.

"I'm not going to read too much into it," McIlroy added. "It was inevitable at some point that the run was going to come to a bit of an end. I'm sort of back to my usual at Wentworth. It wasn't great before I won last year and it hasn't been great after.

"Any time you're defending a title you want to come back and give it a valiant effort. This week wasn't really that. I'm not angry. A little disappointed I'm not going to be here for the weekend. If anything good comes out of this, it's just that I get a couple of days over the weekend to refresh mentally."

For all the scores, visit http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2015/tournamentid=2015038/leaderboard/index.html.