McIlroy stumbles to 4-over 76, Wallace leads at Wentworth

VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) Rory McIlroy made six bogeys and a double bogey in his last 11 holes to shoot 4-over 76 at the BMW PGA Championship, leaving the world No. 2 already 11 strokes off the first-round lead held by Matt Wallace on Thursday.

McIlroy's round fell apart after an eagle at No. 4 followed by a birdie at No. 5, as he shot 42 in his back nine in glorious conditions at Wentworth.

One over for his round arriving at the 17th tee, he pulled his drive and wound up making a double-bogey 7. Another wayward drive led to a bogey at the 18th and he didn't talk to reporters after his round.

Wallace didn't drop a shot in his 65, also making eagle at No. 4 to add to birdies at Nos. 1, 5 and 6. The Englishman rolled in two more birdies coming home.

''I played the first seven or eight holes as good as I possibly could and showed my all-round game by grinding out the last few holes,'' Wallace said.

Henrik Stenson was a stroke behind Wallace after a round of 66 that included an eagle on No. 18 from a putt from off the green that took a horrible early bounce but still found the cup.

There were still some players to finish their first rounds at the tournament staged at the headquarters of the European Tour. It is the first qualifying event for the European team for the 2020 Ryder Cup.

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