Marc Warren has nothing but good memories of his near thing at the BMW PGA Championship last year and feels the good vibes going back to Wentworth this week.
The 33-year-old Scot agonisingly lost a three-way play-off on the West Course last year as Matteo Manassero became the youngest ever winner of the prestigious championship, which celebrates its 60th birthday this year.
But the return to the European Tour’s HQ comes just as Warren believes his game is back in sync after a modest start to 2014, and master-coach Pete Cowen confirmed it to him in Spain last week.
“I hadn’t seen Pete since the Middle East at beginning of February,” Marc explained. “So it was great to meet up with him again during the Spanish Open.
“He said the majority of what I was doing was good, there were only a couple of things that needed clearing up. Tee to green I’ve absolutely no complaints, and I did a good bit of work on my putting when I was at PGA Cataluyna.”
Memories obviously return to last year, when Warren had a great chance to win the flagship title on the European Tour but exited the play-off with Manassero and former champion Simon Khan after the first extra hole.
“This is always a week I look forward to, no matter what,” he continued.
“I feel as if I’ve played well here the last few years, and last year I was so close to winning. It’s our biggest event on tour, so I’ve been itching to get back there. I feel pretty much in a similar mood to last year.”
Then he was left cradling his new baby son Archie as the others played on, but he still has no regrets.
“The good thing last year was that I felt there was nothing else I could have done,” he said.
“I had two great putts on 17 and 18 in regulation and if one of those goes in I could have won. I had that pitch at 17 and it got such a soft bounce, looking back on it later on TV. I also hit it close at 16, but I had such a difficult putt there. I wouldn’t have taken either of those putts at 17 and 18 back, they both just burned the hole.”
Warren loves Wentworth because he believes it tests every facet of the game and requires the full repertoire of shots.
“It requires a lot of different shots, and I enjoy that kind of golf, while the greens are normally pretty firm,” he said.
“The holes go every which way in direction. For me, you stand on the tee and there’s an obvious kind of shot to hit.
“Over time, you get to know the course and the greens. In a way, it’s a bit like the Old Course at St Andrews, it’s not about hitting it high into the green and making it stop. You have to think about it. If you’re swinging well, that’s the type of golf I really enjoy.”