ENGLISHMEN Tyrrell Hatton, Danny Willett, Chris Wood and Matthew Fitzpatrick are targeting victory on home soil after confirming they will be part of the field for next month’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club.

They will join compatriots Paul Casey and Tommy Fleetwood, defending champion Alex Noren, of Sweden, and four-time Major champion Rory McIlroy in the line-up for the first of eight Rolex Series events on the European Tour in 2018, taking place from May 24-27.

Hatton has already tasted victory in the Rolex Series after winning the Italian Open in October 2017, a third European Tour title, and the World No. 19 would love to add another victory on a course that is close to his heart.

“It’s obviously a special week, even more so for me,” said Hatton. “I’ve been going to the event since I was six years old, so it’s always an event I look forward to playing. Certainly, when I got my European Tour card I couldn’t wait for that week to have friends and family there.”

Wood, above, won the BMW PGA Championship in 2016, finishing one shot clear of Sweden’s Rikard Karlberg, and the three-time European Tour winner has another two top-10 finishes to his name at Wentworth.

His victory two years ago was the first time the BMW PGA Championship had been won by an Englishman since Luke Donald successfully defended his title in 2012, and it helped earn Wood a Ryder Cup debut at Hazeltine National.

“Coming to Wentworth as a past champion means an awful lot more than it did two or three years ago, so any time I get to go back, I love it,” said Wood. “It was huge moment in my career – it catapulted me into the Ryder Cup team.

“The BMW PGA Championship is a premier event for us on the European Tour, so it’s a tick-in-the-box event to win really – it’s a bucket list event. Outside of the Majors, for a European, it’s right up there to win, so thankfully I’ve got my name on it and I want it on there again this year.”

While Wood was the last Englishman to win the BMW PGA Championship, Willett is the most recent to join the exclusive group of Major Champions, following his memorable victory in the Masters Tournament in 2016. He also boasts a good record at Wentworth Club, where he has recorded two top five finishes, including finishing third - two shots behind Wood - in 2016 - the same year he claimed the Green Jacket at Augusta National.

“Wentworth is a special place and the BMW PGA Championship is always a great event,” said Willett. “You always feel a lot of support from the home crowds and I’ve performed well there in the past, so hopefully I will be able to do so again this year.”