Justin Rose admits he has a lot of work to do this weekend if he is to claw himself into contention for the BMW PGA Championship.

With the wind blowing and the rain hammering down, the West Course at Wentworth really bared some of its teeth yesterday.

Rose battled well, however, with his one-over-par round of 73 moving him to one-under for the tournament. That leaves him nine shots behind halfway leaders Thomas Bjorn and Shane Lowry.

Rose felt that the European Tour had erred in the way they set up the course for the second round of their flagship event, believing the tougher pin positions should not have been reserved for it.

Rose told the Daily Echo: “It was hard work, it was a grind, no easy shots really, pins were a lot tougher today. I don’t really know why they set the course up the way they did (on Thursday), it seems strange to do that.

“This was the day that should have been set up like it was (on Thursday). It was a tough day, really cold. The temperature dropped a lot at the end, and it got damp, so it was definitely a grind, that’s how the day felt.

“I realised the scoring wouldn’t be good, but it would have been nice to have been two or three better, then I would have felt like being in a good spot going into the weekend, but there’ll be a lot of work to do this weekend.”

Like his opening round, Rose’s second day did not start well, with bogeys at the third and fourth dropping him back to level-par for the tournament.

But birdies at eight and 11, both par-fours, restored order for the US Open champion.

Rose gave back a shot with a bogey at 15, before coming up a millimetre short with his birdie putt at the last.

 

Richard Bland will turn his attention to US Open qualifying after missing the cut at the BMW PGA Championship.
The Southampton-based professional followed up his opening round of 75 with a 78 on Friday, leaving him nine-over-par for the tournament.
That means he will miss the weekend’s action in the European Tour’s flagship event, at Wentworth.
Bland will have to put the disappointment behind him quickly, as he attempts to earn a place in next month’s US Open when he tees it up in qualifying at Walton Heath on Monday.
The 41-year-old, who earned a place in the major championship via that route in 2009, is desperate to have another crack at the event that his Hampshire colleague, Justin Rose, won last year.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I quite like it round there.
“I got through there once and got close a couple of other times, so I fancy my chances.
“I would love to play another US Open. I played at Bethpage in ’09, and I just fell in love with it.
“It would be great to go to Pinehurst this year, which has been a huge US Open venue over the years.”