Graeme and Rory eye Wembley-Wentworth double

Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy will hope to still be in the hunt at the BMW PGA Championship after the third round, but attentions will turn to another of sport’s biggest competitions come Saturday night.

The Northern Irish pair, both avid Manchester United fans, have tickets for the Champions League final at Wembley and will be in North London to cheer on their favourite players.

And reigning US Open champion McDowell has a good idea of how he’d like the weekend to pan out - a W at Wembley followed by a W at Wentworth.

He said: “In an ideal world I’ll be at the business end of the leaderboard after a nice round here at Wentworth.

“Then I can jump in the car, drive to Wembley, see United do the business and wake up the next day and win the PGA Championship.

“That would be a dream weekend.”

His compatriot and close friend McIlroy is similarly excited, but knows where his priorities lie.

“It’s exciting and I’m looking forward to it,” said the 22-year-old. “But I’m not going to let it put me off.

“I’ve got more important things to worry about this week and if I can take care of them then I can really enjoy Saturday night.

“For me, being in England, playing a tournament near London and having the Champions League final at Wembley and having your team competing against arguably the best team in the world… well, it’s the chance of a lifetime.”  

McDowell, who is flying his dad in to take him to the game, concluded: “Manchester United versus Barcelona at Wembley. It doesn’t get much better.”