Aaron Rai maintains stunning form

Wolverhampton’s Aaron Rai continued his superb run of form as the BMW PGA Championship got under way at Wentworth.

Rai finished runner-up in the Irish Open a fortnight ago and followed that with victory in the Scottish Open on Sunday, defeating Tommy Fleetwood in a play-off.

And the 25-year-old former Shropshire & Herefordshire junior showed no signs of slowing down as he birdied three of his first seven holes in damp, overcast conditions on his way to a four under par round of 68 which left him two shots behind joint leaders Tyrell Hatton, Adri Arnaus and Justin Harding

Staffordshire’s Robert Rock, who bogeyed the 72nd hole to miss out on a play-off with Rai and Fleetwood on Sunday, was also part of a group on three under which included Matt Wallace and Scotland’s Grant Forrest.

Shropshire’s Ashley Chesters was down the leaderboard after an up and down round including four bogeys and three birdies left him on one over par at the end of the first round.