Lowry makes move to set up Bjorn battle

Shane Lowry’s love affair with Wentworth has been unrequited up to now but the Offaly man heads into today’s third round of the BMW PGA Championship in the best possible position to seal victory.

A second-round, two-under-par 70 yesterday, sealed with back-to-back birdies on the closing holes, sent Lowry into a share of the lead in the European Tour’s flagship event with Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn at 10 under par. With a four-shot lead over the rest of the field, the tournament could already have the makings of a shoot-out for the €791,660 winner’s cheque.

The leading pair will tee off this afternoon with Lowry hoping to convert a fifth-place finish in 2011 and a tie for 12th last year into victory over a course that has helped spark his season into life after six missed cuts in his first nine starts of 2014.