Rory McIlroy battled a last-hole “s***show” to keep the prospects of the entire Ryder Cup team making the cut in the BMW PGA Championship alive.

Following an 80-minute due to early morning fog, the second day’s play at Wentworth finished amid farcical scenes which saw four groups waiting on the 18th tee and Thomas Bjorn exchanging words with a drunk spectator up ahead on the closing hole.

With the 18th green predominantly illuminated by the light from a giant scoreboard, Mcllroy two-putted from 45 feet for birdie to finish on the projected cut mark of one under par.

The four-time major will have to wait until the second round is completed on Saturday morning to learn his fate, while playing partner Ludvig Aberg continued his brilliant form by sharing the lead with fellow Swede Sebastian Soderberg on 10 under.

Asked to describe the late-night drama, McIlroy said: “It was a s***show.

“The fog obviously delayed things but I’ve never remembered having that many players on 17 and 18. It’s not as if they teed us off in tighter slots or anything.

“It’s hard for me trying to play the last well and make the cut, it’s a bit of a mad dash and a scramble to get finished. I don’t know what you could do about that apart from less players in the field.”

Soderberg had earlier made an eagle on the 18th to complete a superb 64 and set the clubhouse target which was matched by Aberg, who birdied the 16th, 17th and 18th in his 66.

The Swedish pair enjoyed a one-shot lead over Adrian Meronk, Tommy Fleetwood, Thomas Detry and Masahiro Kawamura, with Tyrrell Hatton on seven under and Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick another stroke back.

Meronk said last week he was “shocked, sad and angry” not to receive a pick from Europe captain Luke Donald, especially after winning his third DP World Tour title in the space of 10 months in May’s Italian Open at the Ryder Cup venue on the outskirts of Rome.

“I have accepted it,” the 30-year-old Pole said at Wentworth.

“The first couple of days after were tough, but I have moved on and am focused on my game. I want to finish the season strongly and that is my only goal now.

“I know it’s easy to say, but it’s like having a bad round and letting it go. This one was a little bit tougher to accept because it wasn’t based on me and someone else made that decision.

“I definitely think it is wrong. I feel I’ve deserved it. I feel I’ve shown in the last two years that I’ve played really good on the DP World Tour. If you look at the results and the numbers, I thought it was enough, but there’s nothing I can do now.

“But I have been pretty good at accepting things in my career. I’m trying to turn all that disappointment and anger into motivation, especially this week.”

Meronk, who received shouts of encouragement in Polish as he completed his round, believes the captain having six wild cards is too many and that one should be held back until after the end of the DP World Tour’s flagship event.

“I’d say that four would probably be reasonable and I think leaving one or two picks for these big tournaments would be a good idea,” he added.

“This time the team has been picked basically after a four-week break and then playing two small events. I think one spot should be reserved after this week at least.”

Rahm looked in danger of missing the halfway cut when he thinned his second shot on the first into the face of a fairway bunker and ran up a double bogey, before also dropping a shot on the third.

However, the Masters champion responded with an eagle on the fourth, chipped in to save par on the sixth and covered his last 10 holes in six under par.

“None of those swings felt bad, it was just an unfortunate thing to happen on the first but you have put it on the fairway around here,” said Rahm, who carded a closing 62 here last year to finish runner-up for the second time in two starts.

England head coach Steve Borthwick has highlighted World Rugby’s inconsistent approach to disciplinary issues.

Tom Curry was sent off in the third minute of Saturday’s World Cup victory over Argentina for a dangerous tackle and received a two-match ban, yet similar incidents involving South Africa’s Jesse Kriel and Martin Sigren of Chile failed to produce a dismissal, citing or suspension.

It has raised concerns over the officiating of illegal challenges involving the head.

Borthwick also highlighted that when Owen Farrell was sent off for a dangerous tackle against Wales and then cleared by a disciplinary hearing, World Rugby intervened by appealing against the decision.

“There has been a large amount of commentary from different sources about what appears to be a lack of consistency and transparency in the decision making process,” Borthwick said.

“Now it’s not my role to comment on that, it’s World Rugby’s. I also note there was a tremendous amount of comment from World Rugby on Owen Farrell for a couple of weeks during our preparation for this tournament.

“It was a situation that went on and on with lots of comment from World Rugby. I note there hasn’t been very many comments from World Rugby – I’m told – in the last week or so. I will leave that to World Rugby.”

Gareth Anscombe has revealed how he feared his Rugby World Cup hopes might have been destroyed by injury for a second successive tournament.

The Wales fly-half missed Japan 2019 after suffering an horrific knee injury during a World Cup warm-up game against England that sidelined him for two years.

Anscombe fought back to put himself on the international stage once more – then injury struck again during Wales’ World Cup training camp in Turkey earlier this summer.

An attempted tackle on George North left Anscombe with a thumb problem that resulted in scans and him having to wear a plaster cast for a month, ruling him out of Wales’ three pre-World Cup Tests.

“I suppose I had a night there in Turkey where I thought I was done again, and that was devastating,” said Anscombe, who starts Saturday’s Pool C clash against Portugal at Stade de Nice.

“You have some dark thoughts then, but thankfully I had some luck on my side for once.

“It didn’t look great at the start, and the initial prognosis was it was probably going to need surgery, but thankfully the scans came back better than first thought.

“I had to be in a cast for a month, which was difficult, but at least I could still run.

“I missed the warm-up games, but to have the backing of the coaching staff was great. They spoke to me and said I was still in their plans, which was nice to hear.

“It has been about getting myself right and ready for when an opportunity presented itself, and here we are this weekend.”

Anscombe is one of eight survivors from Wales’ 2015 World Cup squad to be involved eight years later, and he offers considerable experience through 35 caps.

And the New Zealand-born number 10 is relishing a chance to play his part as Wales aim to reach the World Cup knockout phase for a fourth successive tournament.

He features in a team showing 13 changes from the side that toppled Fiji, and it is Anscombe’s first World Cup appearance since he started at full-back against quarter-final conquerors South Africa eight years ago.

“We know there are parts of our performance that we need to improve if we want to progress deep into this tournament,” he added. “But it was a great start (against Fiji).

“There has been an element of confidence brewing. The more time we spend together, we always improve.

“You look back to the Six Nations, a new coaching group and a fairly volatile situation in Welsh rugby.

“We’ve just been able to get away from a bit of the noise, which I think has been important for us as a group. Getting away in Switzerland and Turkey, focusing on ourselves.

“You always need an element of luck in World Cups, with injuries and decisions. We just hope to slowly go about our work and ride the wave.

“We had fantastic support on the weekend. I think more people will jump on the plane over and get behind us. I think you see when Welsh fans get behind us, who knows what can happen.”

Legendary Day is unlikely to be seen back over hurdles any time soon having gained his biggest pay day to date in the Betfred Mallard Handicap at Doncaster.

Trained by Adrian Keatley, the five-year-old was bought out of Hughie Morrison’s yard as a dual-purpose prospect, yet despite winning on his first attempt over timber, two subsequent defeats tempered enthusiasm.

In any case, when you have a Flat horse capable of winning £60,000 handicaps you are probably better off sticking to what you know and that is what Keatley, an Irish 1,000 Guineas-winning trainer with Jet Setting when still based in his homeland, intends to do.

It was a narrow success – one of the biggest of 3lb claimer Mark Winn’s career – having been left in front a long way from home, but Legendary Day (12-1) held off 33-1 chance Oneforthegutter by a short-head.

Keatley said: “We bought him for 8,500 guineas to do both and he’s won over £70,000 for us now, but I won’t be in a rush to go back hurdling with him as he’s not a natural. He did win first time over them but he’s not good at getting in and popping, so he could damage himself with his technique.

“There’s nothing wrong with his technique on the Flat. He’s been knocking on the door in these sort of races. Joe Fanning rode him at York earlier in the season and was adamant he’d win one. Oisin (Murphy) rode him the last day in a big race at York and was very happy with him also.

“I said to Mark today, I just thought with his 3lb it might help us get there and it did.

“I’d been watching Mark for a while, he’s a good rider and an astute young man with a good head on his shoulders and I just thought that 3lb would be crucial.

“He was following the fancied one (The Goat) who quickly fell away, so he found himself in front and there was nothing he could do. Thankfully it worked.”

Keatley went on: “We’ve had a good year. We restocked in the middle of last year, we’ve 21 boxes, we rotate as we go and keep it as fresh as we can.

“These are the days you want to have winners, the big meetings.”

Winn said: “He travelled through the race lovely but when I asked him he found it a bit too well and I was in front a long time.

“He has cheekpieces for a reason, but even so he stuck at it very well. It was tight enough and you never like to be too confident.”

Richard Hannon’s Circe had shown up well on her debut at Sandown earlier in the month and had little trouble opening her account at the second attempt in the Coopers Marquees EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes.

In truth, not many got involved, with Marie Ellen trying to see them all off from the front but Sean Levey always looked confident.

The 3-1 favourite hit the front still on the bridle just over a furlong out and despite looking green in the closing stages, won by a length and a half.

Levey said: “She was very impressive, we liked her first time and she ran in a quality race, beaten by two horses with experience.

“We hoped she’d stepped forwards and she has. I would have liked to have seen her put her head down a bit more and run right through the line, but I didn’t really get a chance to do that as she did it too easy.

“She’s a big horse with plenty of scope and she’ll make a nice three-year-old.”

William Buick guided the George Boughey-trained Baradar (100-30 favourite) to an easy win in the Doncaster Groundworks Reinforcements Handicap, while Ralph Beckett’s Mistressofillusion (7-2) made all in the British EBF Ruby Anniversary Premier Fillies’ Handicap.

Ireland continue their Rugby World Cup campaign on Saturday evening by taking on Tonga in Nantes.

Andy Farrell’s men are seeking a second successive Pool B win ahead of pivotal Paris appointments with South Africa and Scotland after beginning the competition with a thumping 82-8 success over Romania.

Here, the PA news agency picks out some of the main talking points.

Strong selection

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup)

With the formidable Springboks looming large, there were suggestions head coach Farrell may make sweeping changes to his starting line-up. But the Englishman has resisted temptation and gone almost full strength. Only sidelined hooker Dan Sheehan and scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park are missing from arguably his preferred XV. Farrell made clear he wishes to prioritise the immediate challenge rather than become preoccupied by potential injury setbacks and the forthcoming threat of the reigning world champions. Some fans and pundits disagree with that logic. Only time will tell if it is the correct call.

Sexton seeking more history

Johnny Sexton returned with a bang in Bordeaux. His first competitive outing in almost six months following injury and suspension included two tries as part of a 24-point haul. The impressive return propelled him above Ronan O’Gara as Ireland’s leading World Cup points scorer (102) on the day he became his country’s oldest international. Further history beckons for the 38-year-old in Nantes. He needs just 10 more points to surpass O’Gara as Ireland’s outright record points scorer. Captain Sexton, who will retire after the tournament, is not contemplating personal glory. “It will be a very special moment individually but no-one else will really care,” he said.

Avoiding deja vu

Ireland require little reminder of the risks of underestimating weaker opposition at the World Cup. With influential fly-half Sexton rested, they were stunned by hosts Japan under Joe Schmidt in 2019, which ultimately led to a quarter-final exit at the hands of New Zealand. Farrell was assistant to Schmidt back then. But he insists the upset in Shizuoka has not influenced his strong selection. Ireland only need to look back to Thursday evening, when a second-string France side survived a major scare against Uruguay, for further evidence of the dangers posed by emerging nations.

Tough start for Tonga

Tonga have been drawn in the tournament’s trickiest pool, with the world’s top-ranked nation up first. Toutai Kefu’s side, who had a weekend off in round one, are well aware of their underdog status. “We’re not delusional to the challenge we face,” said assistant coach Tyler Bleyendaal. Yet the ranks of the Pacific islanders have been significantly bolstered thanks to a change of international eligibility rules. Former All Blacks Malakai Fekitoa, a World Cup winner in 2015, Charles Piutau, Augustine Pulu and Vaea Fifita are among their starting XV. Bleyendaal anticipates a physical encounter. “We’re here to really fire some shots,” said the former Munster player.

The heat is on

Ireland will welcome a significant reduction in temperature following the scorching conditions endured at Stade de Bordeaux. Farrell’s players defied heat of 36 degrees Celsius to run in 12 tries against Romania, while it was again uncomfortably warm on Friday afternoon when they trained at Stade de la Beaujoire. The forecast for Saturday’s 9pm kick-off local time is a more manageable 22 degrees, with light winds, clear skies and a low chance of precipitation following possible thundery showers earlier in the day. That said, humidity is expected to be high and will add to the intensity as Ireland once again bid to deliver under pressure.

Stuart McInally revealed he has gone through “a whirlwind of emotions” in recent months after he finally got the call to join Scotland’s World Cup squad for a fairy-tale career swansong.

The 33-year-old hooker was officially added to Gregor Townsend’s 33-man squad this week after his long-time Edinburgh club-mate Dave Cherry suffered concussion when slipping on stairs at the team hotel near Nice on Monday, the day after the Scots’ defeat by South Africa.

McInally announced in April that he would be retiring from rugby after the World Cup to pursue a new career as an airline pilot, and his dream of bowing out of the sport on the biggest stage of all looked on course when he was named in the provisional 41-man training squad.

But just days after coming on to win his 49th cap for Scotland away to France last month, McInally received a call from head coach Townsend to inform him he was not in the final 33-man squad, effectively putting him into retirement.

McInally was given some hope when he was called out to France last week as cover after Ewan Ashman suffered concussion and then after flying home to Edinburgh on Monday, he got the call on Wednesday morning to say he was required for duty once more following Cherry’s accident.

“It’s been a whirlwind of emotions,” he said, reflecting on his remarkable return to the fold at the team’s training ground in Nice on Friday. “I was named in the original 41, I was really excited, then to find out I wasn’t going, the emotions took a bit of a hit there, I was very disappointed.

“Then I was out here for injury cover, but I wasn’t allowed to train. I still felt part of it, but I wasn’t really part of it. Then when I found out I was officially joining the 33, I was over the moon. The story continues.

“It’s lucky I like flying as I’ve been back and forth, clocking up the air miles. I didn’t mind it, it’s always been for a reason and it’s not like we’re in Japan like last time. It’s a two-hour flight.

“I got the call to come back on Wednesday. It was a case of pack my bags and getting straight back out here. Luckily I hadn’t unpacked, I’m quite slow with the unpacking!”

McInally was gutted not to be named in the original squad in August.

“The hooker position is so competitive so I never took anything for granted,” he said. “I thought I had a good chance but ultimately they went a different way and I respected that and had a good chat with Gregor. I moved on, but that’s all in the past now.”

McInally insisted there was never any danger of him going into retirement mode after his initial snub as his professional mentality ensured he kept himself in shape in case an opportunity arose belatedly.

“I had always been very clear that I’d be starting my new career in November and that would be after the World Cup,” he said.

“I can see why people would think it would be hard to stay focused (on rugby), but for me it was quite easy as I always knew this could happen and as long as it could happen, I was going to make sure I was in a good position to take the chance if it came.
 
“I would have kicked myself if this situation had arisen and I hadn’t looked after myself.

“People said ‘you might get a call, I can see it happening’, but you never really believe it. But it was very easy for me to keep fit because I knew that even if I had been called up much further down the line, maybe a quarter-final or something and I hadn’t stayed fit and they needed me, then I would never have been able to forgive myself. That’s just me being me.

“I have been running and doing my weights on my own to make sure I stayed sharp.

“I made sure I spoke to the conditioners here and they gave me running sessions and weights to do. I’ve got a gym in the house and a running pitch two minutes from my house so I could do very specific rugby sessions.

“After 13 years in rugby I know the sessions I need to do to stay in shape so I put myself through my paces. It was all for a good reason.”

McInally, who captained Scotland at the last World Cup in Japan, knows he now has the chance to notch his 50th cap before he retires.

“A lot of people are talking about it (the possibility of a 50th cap) and I’ve had a lot of love from back home about that,” he said. “I’m trying not to think about it because until you’re actually named in a 23 and take to the pitch, anything can happen.

“It’s so exciting, and knowing that it’s my last throw of the dice as well, I’m determined to give my best.

“What would make it really special would be if we went on and did something special and got out of the group and challenged for quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final.

“That’s what we’re here for. It’s great to be here, but we’re just focused on playing our best and trying to get out of the group.”

McInally had sympathy for 32-year-old Cherry, who had made his first-ever appearance at a World Cup the day before his accident.

“It was hugely disappointing for him,” he said. “I spoke to him before he left and he was obviously very gutted. It is just one of those things and I feel really sorry for him.”

An emotional Andy Murray broke down in tears at the end of an epic Davis Cup win over Swiss debutant Leandro Riedi after revealing he was missing his grandmother’s funeral to play in the tie.

Murray needed all his nous to grind out a 6-7 (7) 6-4 6-4 victory in three hours and 10 minutes at Manchester’s AO Arena, giving Great Britain a 1-0 lead over Switzerland.

At the end of what had been a light-hearted on-court interview, the Scot choked up, revealing the added significance of his victory.

“Today is a tough day for me, it’s my gran’s funeral today,” he said. “I’m sorry to my family that I’m not able to be there but gran, this one’s for you.”

Murray then returned to his bench where he sat sobbing into his towel.

It made his efforts in coming through another long and tense battle even more impressive.

Murray had only lost three of his previous 35 singles matches in the competition and never to a player ranked as low as world number 152 Riedi, but the big-hitting 21-year-old produced a performance well above that.

Having seen his gamble to play debutant Jack Draper and Dan Evans handsomely pay off in Wednesday’s victory over Australia, captain Leon Smith made use of his options by naming Murray and Cameron Norrie as his singles players here.

Evans’ 0-5 record against Wawrinka may have played a part in his thinking along perhaps with caution not to overplay Draper considering his physical fragility this year.

Murray played singles against Kazakhstan at the same stage last year but only once Britain were already eliminated, making this his first live singles rubber in the competition since 2019 and only his second in seven years.

Switzerland also sprung a surprise by picking Riedi ahead of their number two Dominic Stricker, and Murray admitted that had thrown him having prepared to face a left-hander.

After negotiating an 11-minute first game, the Scot broke serve immediately and had a chance to open up a 4-0 lead.

He could not take it, though, and Riedi worked his way into the contest, beginning to cause Murray increasing problems with his big forehand and aggressive tactics.

They earned him a break back when the Scot served for the set at 5-3, and Murray was then unable to take two set points in the tie-break, Riedi converting his first opportunity with his 22nd winner.

The young Swiss, who had never previously beaten a top-50 player, had his tail up and Murray kicked his bag in frustration after failing to break in the third game of the second set.

He finally made the breakthrough at 3-3 when Riedi double-faulted, only for the 21-year-old to leave his opponent rooted to the spot with a series of blistering returns.

Undeterred, Murray engineered another break and this time held onto it with trademark grim determination to level the match.

The 36-year-old has been in similar situations hundreds of times during his career and ultimately experience won out, although it was still nip and tuck, with Murray slamming his racket to the court after handing an early break back in the decider.

He broke again to lead 3-2, though, and quashed Riedi’s hopes of a comeback by taking his first match point with an ace.

Murray said: “It’s obviously incredible to get through that one, it easily could have gone the other way.

“It was ridiculous the shots he was pulling off, amazing, amazing returning. I kept fighting and tried to stay focused and managed to turn it round.”

Lewis Ludlam has edged Billy Vunipola in the battle for England’s number eight jersey for Sunday’s World Cup clash with Japan.

Vunipola has completed his two-match suspension for a dangerous tackle against Ireland last month but the hard-carrying Saracen is limited to a bench role only for the Stade de Nice showdown.

Instead, Ludlam has been rewarded for his defensive masterclass as a replacement in the 27-10 rout of Argentina on Saturday by filling the hole in the back row created by Tom Curry’s suspension, also for an illegal challenge.

Ben Earl switches from number eight to openside to accommodate the return of Ludlam, who played every minute of this year’s Six Nations and has been one of England’s most consistent performers of recent times.

The Northampton skipper’s elevation above the less mobile Vunipola is a nod to Japan’s high tempo tactics, which assistant coach Kevin Sinfield has compared to Barcelona’s tiki-taka style of football.

Two further changes in personnel have been made in the front row where Kyle Sinckler and Joe Marler displace Dan Cole and Ellis Genge as starting props.

Sinckler has recovered from the pectoral injury that limited his game time during the warm-up Tests and prevented him from facing the Pumas in the Pool D opener in Marseille.

Steve Borthwick has retained the same backline that featured against Argentina with George Ford given another opportunity to argue his case for being viewed as first choice fly-half.

Owen Farrell completes his four-match ban – once again for a dangerous tackle – versus Japan and becomes available for the last two group matches against Chile and Samoa, forcing Borthwick to make a difficult call at 10.

England will march on to a place in the quarter-finals if they topple Japan, who are not the dynamic force that captured hearts and minds at the last World Cup when they reached the knockout phase for the first time.

Having risen to tier-one status, they have now slipped to 14th in the global rankings but at least opened the tournament with a thumping 42-12 victory over Chile.

“It was both pleasing and important that we were able to start our World Cup campaign with a good win against Argentina last Saturday,” Borthwick said.

“It was incredible to see so many of our supporters in the stadium in Marseille. Their support means a great deal to the team. We hope that we were able to provide the supporters both here in France and at home with some great memories, and we are setting out to do the same again this Sunday in Nice.

“After another good week’s preparation in Le Touquet, we are looking forward to the challenge of playing a Japan side that will be full of confidence following their comprehensive win over Chile in their opening fixture of the competition.”

Andy Murray battled past Davis Cup debutant Leandro Riedi in a three-hour epic in Manchester to give Great Britain a 1-0 lead over Switzerland.

The former world number one had only lost three of his previous 35 singles matches in the competition and never to a player ranked as low as world number 152 Riedi.

But the big-hitting 21-year-old produced a performance well above that and, after failing to take his chances in the opening set, Murray needed all his nous to grind out a 6-7 (7) 6-4 6-4 victory in three hours and 10 minutes.

It was another demonstration that, for all his frustration at being unable to get back in the mix at grand slams, the competitive fire still burns brightly within Murray and to get over the line in an important match for his country undoubtedly meant a lot.

The 36-year-old said: “It’s obviously incredible to get through that one, it easily could have gone the other way. It was ridiculous the shots he was pulling off, amazing, amazing returning. I kept fighting and tried to stay focused and managed to turn it round.”

Having seen his gamble to play debutant Jack Draper and Dan Evans handsomely pay off in Wednesday’s victory over Australia, captain Leon Smith made use of his options by naming Murray and Cameron Norrie as his singles players here.

Evans’ 0-5 record against Stan Wawrinka may have played a part in his thinking along perhaps with caution not to over-play Draper given his physical fragility this year.

Murray played singles against Kazakhstan at the same stage last year but only once Britain were already eliminated, making this his first live singles rubber in the competition since 2019 and only his second in seven years.

Switzerland also sprang a surprise by picking Riedi ahead of their number two Dominic Stricker, and Murray admitted that had thrown him having prepared to face a left-hander.

After negotiating an 11-minute first game, the Scot broke serve immediately and had a chance to open up a 4-0 lead.

He could not take it, though, and Riedi worked his way into the contest, beginning to cause Murray increasing problems with his big forehand and aggressive tactics.

They earned him a break back when the Scot served for the set at 5-3, and Murray was then unable to take two set points in the tie-break, Riedi converting his first opportunity with his 22nd winner.

The young Swiss, who had never previously beaten a top-50 player, had his tail up and Murray kicked his bag in frustration after failing to break in the third game of the second set.

He finally made the breakthrough at 3-3 when Riedi double-faulted only for the 21-year-old to leave his opponent rooted to the spot with a series of blistering returns.

Undeterred, Murray engineered another break and this time held onto it with trademark grim determination to level the match.

The Scot has been in similar situations hundreds of times during his career and ultimately experience won out, although it was still nip and tuck, with Murray slamming his racket to the court after handing an early break back in the decider.

He broke again to lead 3-2, though, and quashed Riedi’s hopes of a comeback by taking his first match point with an ace.

Adrian Meronk insisted he has accepted being overlooked for a Ryder Cup wild card as he threatened to outscore all 12 members of the European team in the BMW PGA Championship.

After an 80-minute delay due to early morning fog, Meronk added a second round of 68 to his opening 67 at Wentworth to share the clubhouse lead with Belgium’s Thomas Detry and Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura.

Former winner Tyrrell Hatton was the best-placed of the Ryder Cup dozen in the early wave on seven under, with Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick both a shot further back.

Meronk said last week he was “shocked, sad and angry” not to receive a pick from Europe captain Luke Donald, especially after winning his third DP World Tour title in the space of 10 months in May’s Italian Open at the Ryder Cup venue on the outskirts of Rome.

“I have accepted it,” the 30-year-old Pole said at Wentworth.

“The first couple of days after were tough, but I have moved on and am focused on my game. I want to finish the season strongly and that is my only goal now.

“I know it’s easy to say, but it’s like having a bad round and letting it go. This one was a little bit tougher to accept because it wasn’t based on me and someone else made that decision.

“I definitely think it is wrong. I feel I’ve deserved it. I feel I’ve shown in the last two years that I’ve played really good on the DP World Tour. If you look at the results and the numbers, I thought it was enough, but there’s nothing I can do now.

“But I have been pretty good at accepting things in my career. I’m trying to turn all that disappointment and anger into motivation, especially this week.”

Meronk, who received shouts of encouragement in Polish as he completed his round, believes the captain having six wild cards is too many and that one should be held back until after the end of the DP World Tour’s flagship event.

“I’d say that four would probably be reasonable and I think leaving one or two picks for these big tournaments would be a good idea,” he added.

“This time the team has been picked basically after a four-week break and then playing two small events. I think one spot should be reserved after this week at least.”

Rahm looked in danger of missing the halfway cut when he thinned his second shot on the first into the face of a fairway bunker and ran up a double bogey, before also dropping a shot on the third.

However, the Masters champion responded with an eagle on the fourth, chipped in to save par on the sixth and covered his last 10 holes in six under par.

“None of those swings felt bad, it was just an unfortunate thing to happen on the first but you have put it on the fairway around here,” said Rahm, who carded a closing 62 here last year to finish runner-up for the second time in two starts.