"The LIV players have a chance now" - Here's how fans reacted to BMW PGA Championship resuming as a 54-hole event

The BMW PGA Championship 2022 commenced on September 8 and Round 1 of the annual tournament has concluded. However, the championship was forced to a halt following the demise of Queen Elizabeth II.

The DP World Tour revealed that the PGA Championship will resume on Saturday (September 10) but in a shortened format.

The BMW PGA Championship has been shortened to 54 holes. Officials were forced to make the call after Friday’s play was canceled, shortening the event’s game time. The DP World Tour event being played at Wentworth outside of London resumed on Saturday morning with the 54-hole format.

A statement from the DP World Tour about the BMW PGA Championship read:

“It is not possible to play the full 72 holes and finish on Monday as we cannot guarantee the staff, facilities or security of the venue on Monday due to the ongoing plans for the state funeral."

Fans react to BMW PGA Championship's 54-hole change

While this is a totally acceptable scenario, it has become a talking point on social media. While most fans seemed okay with the decision, others took the opportunity to draw attention to the ongoing LIV Golf-PGA Tour debate.

Many came forward to slam the PGA Tour players, who had earlier contested the controversial LIV Golf, claiming that 54-hole games were not ‘real golf’.

Social media users launched attacks on the PGA Tour along with its players, including Rory McIlroy and Billy Horschel. Fans pointed out that the players' comments slamming LIV Golf players over their 54-hole match format have now become ‘ironic’.

Here’s how fans on social media reacted to the BMW PGA Championship’s 54-hole format change:

It is pertinent to note that Rory McIlroy and Billy Horschel were among the athletes target on social media.

Earlier, the duo had openly criticized LIV Golf athletes, who arrived at the BMW PGA Championship. Both McIlroy and Horschel claimed that players associated with the Saudi-backed league must not be allowed to compete at the tournament.

McIlroy even went out of his way to crack jokes about his rivals, claiming that they would get 'tired by Sunday' after playing the 72-hole series. This has backfired since the BMW PGA Championship changed its format.

Leaderboard of the BMW PGA Championship 2022 as of Day 1

Here are the standings after the first day of the BMW PGA Championship:

• T1 – Tommy Fleetwood (England)
• T1 – Andy Sullivan (England)
• T1 – Viktor Hovland (Norway)
• 4 – Matthew Jordan (England)
• T5 – Shane Lowry (Ireland)
• T5 – Jason Scrivener (Australia)
• T5 – Fabrizio Zanotti (Paraguay)
• T5 – Marcus Armitage (England)
• T9 – David Law (Scotland)
• T9 – Rasmus Hojgaard (Denmark)
• T11 – Matthieu Pavon (France)
• T11 – Masahiro Kawamura (Japan)
• T11 – Abraham Ancer (Mexico)
• T11 – Sami Valimaki (Finland)
• T11 – Johannes Veerman (USA)
• T11 – Rafa Cabrera Bello (Spain)
• T11 – Billy Horschel (USA)
• T11 – Rory Mcllroy (Northern Ireland)
• T11 – Kurt Kitayama (USA)
• T11 – Bernd Wiesberger (Austria)
• T11 – Soren Kjeldsen (Denmark)
• T11 – James Morrison (England)
• T11 – Guido Migliozzi (Italy)
• T11 – Eddie Pepperell (England)
• T25 – Julien Guerrier (France)
• T25 – David Drysdale (Scotland)
• T25 – Oliver Bekker (South Africa)
• T25 – Kristian Krogh Johannessen (Norway)
• T25 – Scott Jamieson (Scotland)
• T25 – Maverick Antcliff (Australia)
• T25 – Antoine Rozner (France)
• T25 – Pablo Larrazabal (Spain)
• T25 – Matt Fitzpatrick (England)
• T25 – Hurly Long (Germany)
• T25 – Grant Forrest (Scotland)
• T25 – Daniel Gavins (England)
• T25 – Ian Poulter (England)
• T25 – Callum Shinkwin (England)
• T25 – Adrian Otaegui (Spain)
• T25 – Julien Brun (France)
• T25 – Marc Warren (Scotland)
• T25 – Romain Langasque (France)
• T25 – Victor Dubuisson (France)
• T25 – Connor Syme (Scotland)
• T25 – Lucas Herbert (Australia)
• T25 – Tyrrell Hatton (England)
• T25 – Adam Scott (Australia)
• T25 – Thomas Pieters (Belgium)
• T25 – Francesco Molinari (Italy)
• T25 – Thomas Detry (Belgium)
• T25 – Daniel van Tonder (South Africa)
• T52 – Scott Hend (Australia)
• T52 – Sebastian Soderberg (Sweden)
• T52 – Matthew Southgate (England)
• T52 – Steven Brown (England)
• T52 – Nacho Elvira (Spain)
• T52 – Adrian Meronk (Poland)
• T52 – Oliver Wilson (England)
• T52 – Alexander Bjork (Sweden)
• T52 – Talor Gooch (USA)
• T52 – Matti Schmid (Germany)
• T52 – Jeff Winther (Denmark)
• T52 – Sam Horsfield (England)
• T52 – Jon Rahm (Spain)
• T52 – Victor Perez (France)
• T52 – Lee Westwood (England)
• T52 – Sean Crocker (USA)
• T52 – Jorge Campillo (Spain)
• T52 – George Coetzee (South Africa)
• T52 – Ashun Wu (China)
• T52 – Justin Harding (South Africa)
• T72 – Joakim Lagergren (Sweden)
• T72 – Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland)
• T72 – Richie Ramsay (Scotland)
• T72 – Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium)
• T72 – Wil Besseling (Netherlands)
• T72 – Francesco Laporta (Italy)
• T72 – Shaun Norris (South Africa)
• T72 – Braden Grace (South Africa)
• T72 – Marcus Helligkilde (Denmark)
• T72 – Thomas Bjorn (Denmark)
• T72 – Danny Willett (England)
• T72 – Ewen Ferguson (Scotland)
• T72 – Nicolai Hojgaard (Denmark)
• T72 – Robert MacIntyre (Scotland)
• T72 – Patrick Reed (USA)
• T72 – John Catlin (USA)
• T72 – Joost Luiten (Netherlands)
• T89 – Rikard Karlberg (Sweden)
• T89 – David Horsey (England)
• T89 – Greig Hutcheon (Scotland)
• T89 – Edoardo Molinari (Italy)
• T89 – Jack Senior (England)
• T89 – Alejandro Canizares (Spain)
• T89 – Richard Sterne (South Africa)
• T89 – Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand)
• T89 – Matt Wallace (England)
• T89 – Jordan Smith (England)
• T89 – Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark)
• T89 – Maximilian Kieffer (Germany)
• T89 – Marcus Kinhult (Sweden)
• T102 – Frederic Lacroix (France)
• T102 – Jamie Donaldson (Wales)
• T102 – Ryan Fox (New Zealand)
• T102 – Dean Burmester (South Africa)
• T102 – Justin Rose (England)
• T102 – Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain)
• T102 – Stephen Gallacher (Scotland)
• T102 – Darius van Driel (Netherlands)
• T102 – Justin Walters (South Africa)
• T102 – Lucas Bjerregaard (Denmark)
• T102 – Jazz Janewattananond (Thailand)
• T102 – Luke Donald (England)
• T102 – Adri Arnaus (Spain)
• T102 – Richard Bland (England)
• T102 – Nino Bertasio (Italy)
• T102 – Wade Ormsby (Australia)
• T102 – Dale Whitnell (England)
• T102 – Santiago Tarrio (Spain)
• T120 – Tapio Pulkkanen (Finland)
• T120 – Shubhankar Sharma (India)
• T120 – Thriston Lawrence (South Africa)
• T120 – Chris Wood (England)
• T120 – Aaron Rai (England)
• T120 – Chris Paisley (England)
• T120 – Laurie Canter (England)
• T120 – Darren Fichardt (South Africa)
• T120 – Ricardo Gouveia (Portugal)
• T129 – Kalle Samooja (Finland)
• T129 – Mikko Korhonen (Finland)
• T129 – Jonathan Caldwell (Northern Ireland)
• T129 – Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez (Spain)
• T129 – Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand)
• T129 – Ross Fisher (England)
• T129 – Brandon Stone (South Africa)
• T136 – Sergio Garcia (Spain)
• T136 – Min Woo Lee (Australia)
• T136 – Haotong Li (China)
• T139 – Jack Singh Brar (England)
• T139 – Nicolai von Dellingshausen (Germany)
• T141 – Joachim B Hansen (Denmark)
• T141 – Garrick Higgo (South Africa)
• T143 – Andrea Pavan (Italy)
• T143 – Kristoffer Broberg (Sweden)