Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy make strong starts at Wentworth

Shane Lowry is just two shots off the clubhouse leader, with Rory McIlroy a further two back, after the opening round of the BMW PGA Championship on Thursday.

Stormy weather provided a fitting backdrop at Wentworth, where players on both sides of golf's bitter power struggle were in action on the soggy fairways.

Tommy Fleetwood leads the way following his brilliant eight-under 64, but Matthew Jordan (-7) and Lowry (-6) are breathing down his neck. Birdies on 11, 15 and 18 lifted the Offalyman up the leaderboard to set him up for a decent tile this weekend.

McIlroy also birdied 18 and only had one bogey in a solid 68.

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He got off to a slow start with four straight pars but birdied the fifth and sixth before dropping a shot on the eighth after only being able to move his ball a few feet from heavy rough.

The FedEx Cup champion was able to see the funny side and said: "I was very surprised. I thought if I could get enough speed into it and get steep enough on it I could at least get it over the water and somewhere around the green.

"Harry (Diamond, his caddie) did say to me, 'Are you not worried about this bank in front of you?' and I said, 'No, I can get over that'. I managed to get away with a bogey and I thought I played okay.

"The rain was on and off all day and that made it a little tricky, umbrellas up, umbrellas down, wet gear on, wet gear off. But the course is soft, so receptive. It's target practice out there.

"If you can hit the ball in the fairway, you've got the ball in your hand with preferred lies so you can go low. I definitely feel the course is going to be very gettable for the rest of the week."

Additional reporting: PA