ENGLAND’s two most recent European Tour winners, Matt Wallace and Eddie Pepperell, visited Wentworth Club on Thursday to play the West Course in preparation for this month’s BMW PGA Championship.

Pepperell, who claimed his maiden European Tour victory in February at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, and Wallace, who snared his second title two months ago at the Hero Indian Open, are delighted by the opportunity to compete in multiple events on home soil within the space of three weeks.

“The BMW PGA Championship is a tournament I’ve grown up with and have always known is one of the best we play,” said Wallace. “I’m super excited, and I love the golf course. We always look forward to it.

“I think you can tell just by the field, with people coming back over from America to play on the European Tour, it’s great for us, great for me and I’m excited to play with the big guys again.”

Pepperell, whose first appearance at the event in 2013 yielded a sixth-placed finish, is equally enthused.

“It will be great to come back,” Pepperell said. “I’ve played in four BMW PGA Championships, and did well in my rookie year, which is still one of the best moments of my career.

“Being in contention down the stretch here was a great experience and I’ve always loved coming back ever since that. We always receive great support, so I’m looking forward to that.”

Immediately after the 2016 tournament, Wentworth Club’s West Course underwent a multi-million-pound renovation project which saw a sub-air system installed underneath all 18 greens, which were stripped of their old turf and completely re-seeded. All the bunkers were reconstructed with 29 being totally removed.

“I had heard quite a bit about the greens being not so good,” said Wallace. “The tournament and the golf course decided to change that and now the course is just fantastic.”

This year’s tournament will feature an elite field of big names, all looking to prevent Swedish star Alex Noren from successfully defending his title.

“It definitely adds an extra something when you’re hitting balls on the same range as Rory McIlroy or Paul Casey,” Pepperell noted.

“For everyone involved, we know how much Rory brings to an event, so when he shows up and plays, it certainly adds a lot of excitement across the board from fans to players.”

The BMW PGA Championship, which runs from May 24- 27, also features a star-studded Celebrity Pro-Am on the 23rd, and concert performances by Rudimental and Simple Minds on Saturday and Sunday nights, respectively.