Ryan Gerard Takes 36-hole Lead at Wentworth

• Ryan Gerard shot a bogey-free 65 to reach 12-under at the BMW PGA Championship.
• Gerard finished eagle-birdie to establish a two-shot halfway lead at Wentworth Club.
• Filippo Celli and Adam Scott share second place on 10-under.

Ryan Gerard produced an eagle-birdie finish on Wentworth Club’s closing par-5s to take a two-shot halfway lead at the BMW PGA Championship.

The American added a bogey-free 65 to his opening 67, reaching 12-under after playing the West Course’s four par-5s in 5-under on Friday.

Filippo Celli and former Masters champion Adam Scott are his nearest challengers at 10-under. US PGA Champion Aaron Rai and Manuel Elvira sit another shot back, while Rory McIlroy, Ryan Fox, JJ Spaun, Ross Fisher and Nacho Elvira share sixth place on 8-under.

Gerard Attacks Wentworth’s Closing Holes

Gerard began the second round one shot behind Rai and Joakim Lagergren, the overnight leaders, and remained in contention after four birdies across his opening 13 holes.

He made his first gain with a two-putt birdie at the par-5 4th before hitting his approach to 13 feet at the 8th. Another two-putt birdie followed at the 12th, then a long putt at the next moved him towards the top of the leaderboard.

Gerard arrived at the par-5 17th one shot off the lead. A superb second shot finished 20 feet from the hole and he converted the eagle putt before making a two-putt birdie at the 18th.

“I don’t know if I was feeling an eagle-birdie finish but I stayed patient all day,” Gerard said.

“You know when you get to the last couple of holes at Wentworth here, they are gettable. There’s also trouble lurking, so you have to be careful. Just felt like we were putting the ball in the right spots all day. Good things happen when you stick to the plan and execute shots.”

The 27-year-old earned DP World Tour status by winning the Barracuda Championship and tied for 38th on his BMW PGA Championship debut last season. He has since recorded four runner-up finishes, including a playoff defeat to J.T. Poston at The Memorial Tournament.

Gerard arrived in England at a career-high 21st in the Official World Golf Ranking. He also shared the halfway lead at the Tour Championship last month before finishing behind Viktor Hovland.

Scott and Celli Lead the Pursuit

Scott, starting at the 9th, responded to a bogey at the 13th with four consecutive birdies. Further gains at the 1st and 2nd took him into double figures, and he briefly held the outright lead at 11-under before bogeying the 7th in a round of 67.

Celli shot 66 after turning in 32. The Italian birdied the 2nd and 4th, holed out at the 6th and made another long putt at the 8th, then gained shots on all three back-nine par-5s.

Manuel Elvira matched Celli’s 66 by making five birdies on his inward nine. Rai, who won the US PGA Championship at Aronimink in May, closed birdie-birdie for a 69.

McIlroy and Fox matched Rai’s closing sequence to sign for rounds of 67 and 68. Spaun posted a 66, Fisher returned a 67 and Nacho Elvira shot 69, leaving all five four strokes behind Gerard entering the weekend.

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