Hovland Tied for Lead at BMW PGA Championship... McIlroy in 3rd Place

12 Under Par 132 Strokes Kelson Tied for Lead
'FedEx Cup Champ' McIlroy Chases at 1 Stroke Behind
'Korean-Australian' Minwoo Lee Posts Daily Best 10 Under Par

Victor Hovland is watching an approach shot on the 18th hole fairway at the BMW PGA Championship. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] Viktor Hovland (Norway) rose to a tie for the lead in the 54-hole shortened BMW PGA Championship.

On the 10th (local time), Hovland shot a 4-under-par 68 with five birdies and one bogey in the second round held at Wentworth Club (par 71) in Surrey, England. With a total score of 12-under-par 132, he shared the top of the leaderboard with Søren Kjeldsen (Denmark).

From the first day, Hovland surged to a tie for the lead with one eagle and six birdies for 8-under-par. On this day as well, he made a smooth start by securing consecutive birdies on holes 3 and 4. Although he recorded two birdies and one bogey between holes 14 and 16, he ultimately reduced his score with a birdie on the 18th hole (par 5).

Earlier, the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) suspended play during the first round due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and shortened the tournament to 54 holes. On this day, 30 players who had not completed the first round played first, followed by the resumption of the second round.

'FedEx Cup champion' Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) recorded consecutive birdies on holes 17 and 18 to finish 7-under-par. With a total of 11-under-par 133, he closely chased the leaders by one stroke. He formed a tie for third place group with Rafa Cabrera Bello (Spain) and Thomas Detry (Belgium).

Among players who moved to the LIV Golf Invitational Series, Tyler Gouche (USA) and Adri?n Otegui (Spain) posted the best results, tying for 6th place. Gouche recorded eight birdies without any bogeys on this day, reaching a total of 10-under-par.

Korean-Australian Minwoo Lee (23) posted the daily best score of 10-under-par 62. He made two eagles and seven birdies while limiting bogeys to one. With a total of 6-under-par 138, he was positioned in a tie for 34th place group along with Jon Rahm (Spain) and others.

Active on the PGA Tour, he reportedly visited Buckingham Palace the previous day, when there were no games, to mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Minwoo Lee is also the younger brother of Minji Lee (25), who is active on the LPGA Tour.