England’s Matt Baldwin will take a two-shot lead into the third round of the BMW PGA Championship after a record-equalling display at Wentworth.
A former foursomes partner of Tommy Fleetwood, who also worked as a delivery driver to fund his golf, Baldwin is in pole position to claim the first prize of £1.15million after adding a 66 to his opening 65 for a halfway total of 13 under par, matching the tournament record set by Paul McGinley in 2008.
British Masters winner Niklas Norgaard is Baldwin’s nearest challenger on 11 under following a 68, with France’s Antoine Rozner another stroke back after firing six birdies in the last seven holes in a bogey-free 65.
Rory McIlroy lies four shots off the lead on nine under after adding a 68 to his opening 67.
Play was suspended for 77 minutes due to the threat of lightning shortly before noon, with Baldwin having just holed from 25 feet for par on the 16th before the siren sounded.
The 38-year-old won his first DP World Tour title in South Africa last year, but admitted he had considered quitting the game on several occasions as he battled to keep his card.
“I had three or four months working at Amazon driving a van just to see me through the winter before the Challenge Tour started in 2022,” said Baldwin, who lost his card in 2016 but regained it for 2018 after a sixth visit to the qualifying school.
“I learned a lot from that. I learned that there are other things that I could do in life, but I also learned that I really wanted to play golf.
“I remember pulling up to a block of flats, jumped out the van, got in the back and all of a sudden I feel like I’m moving and I’m like, ‘Oh no, I forgot to put the handbrake on’.
“So I’ve ran out the back, ran around the side, yanked the handbrake up, still wouldn’t stop, yanked it more, it eventually stopped about this far short (inches) of a blue Fiesta.
“There was a woman I was delivering a parcel to who watched the whole thing and she said, ‘I couldn’t get my phone out quick enough to film it’.”
Growing up in Southport, Baldwin played junior golf with Ryder Cup star Fleetwood, whose second round of 68 left him six shots behind his former Lancashire team-mate.
“I don’t think we ever lost,” Baldwin added. “We played a lot of golf growing up, graduated the same year from Challenge Tour and obviously played a little bit out here.
“Our paths have gone slightly different but hopefully I can catch him up.”
McIlroy came into the week on the back of a heartbreaking loss in the Irish Open at Royal County Down, where he looked set to claim his first professional win on home soil until costly late bogeys saw him finish a shot behind Rasmus Hojgaard.
“It’s really important (to play well) but also it’s nice, I wouldn’t have liked the week off to just wallow in self-pity if I hadn’t have played,” McIlroy said.
“To come back out and get straight back on the golf course and play a couple of solid rounds to give myself a chance at another really big tournament that means a lot to me, I thought it was important to do that and thankfully I have.
“Obviously last week I don’t know if there’s anything that will compare to that scene on 18 on Sunday, but the crowds out here for the first two days, it’s incredible.
“It’s a proper tournament, it’s the way it’s supposed to feel and it’s a pleasure to play in front of them in that atmosphere.”