Alex Noren and Adrien Saddier Lead the BMW PGA Championship
In the prestigious BMW PGA Championship, the European stars preparing for the upcoming Ryder Cup are being overshadowed by a player who will act as one of the team’s vice-captains. Alex Noren, the Swede who will be one of Luke Donald’s five assistants at Bethpage Black, made an impressive 17-foot putt on the 18th hole, completing a birdie-birdie-eagle finish. This put him in a tie with Adrien Saddier at the top of the leaderboard in the third round of the European Tour’s flagship event. Saddier, a Frenchman ranked 120th, got birdies on three of his last four holes, achieving a 65 under par. Noren, who was champion in 2017, signed a card of 66. With a cumulative score of 15 under par (201), both players lead Tyrrell Hatton by two strokes, who completed a round of 64. Hatton is the best-positioned Ryder Cup player among the eleven competing at Wentworth this week, in the run-up to the matches from September 26 to 28. Viktor Hovland, with a round of 71, is one stroke behind, in fourth position. Other Ryder Cup players, such as Ludvig Åberg (73) and Matt Fitzpatrick (69), were in a tie for sixth place, with a total of 10 under par. Rory McIlroy, after a round of 70, placed 53rd, with a total of 5 under par, unable to maintain the good performance he showed when winning the Irish Open last week. Tommy Fleetwood, the recent FedEx Cup winner, shot a round of 71 and is at 3 under par in the tournament. Hideki Matsuyama and Justin Rose, who occupied the first and second positions respectively after 36 holes, moved away from the competition after rounds of 76, these being the worst of Saturday. Noren, in excellent form, knows how to win at Wentworth, having shot a final round of 62 to claim the title eight years ago, and is finishing the season strongly. Two weeks ago, he won the British Masters, his eleventh victory on the European Tour and the first in seven years, and tied for third place at the Wyndham Championship in early August. Despite his impressive recent form, he was not selected as a captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup, but he could outshine many of the stars with whom he will share the European team’s locker room at Bethpage.As for Saddier, he led after three rounds at the Irish Open, but closed with a 74 and finished tied for fifth place. He now has the opportunity to get his second title of 2025, after the Italian Open in June, and the most important victory of his career.“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Noren said, anticipating the final round. “I love this.”
“I think it will be another day of work,” Saddier said. “I will just focus on myself and my game. I will try to hit a lot of fairways and greens, and we’ll see if the putts fall tomorrow.”
