The 2026 BMW PGA Championship is underway at Wentworth – here are the latest headlines from the world of golf including a major update on Rory McIlroy

The BMW PGA Championship is into its crucial weekend stages, with Wentworth once again providing the backdrop for one of the biggest events on the DP World Tour calendar. With a host of the world’s leading players battling it out, there is plenty at stake as the season edges towards its conclusion.

As ever, the action has not been short of talking points, with events on and off the course adding an extra layer of intrigue to proceedings in Surrey. One of the tournament’s biggest names has seen his hopes take an unexpected turn, while another has been given fresh reason to believe he can make an impact on the Race to Dubai standings.

There has also been plenty of respect between two familiar rivals, despite their history of fierce competition over the years. With the third round now underway, here is the latest from Wentworth as the BMW PGA Championship takes centre stage.

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Patrick Reed withdraws

Patrick Reed was forced to pull out midway through the second round of the BMW PGA Championship. The former Masters champion had made an encouraging start and was sitting inside the top 10 before his afternoon took a dramatic turn.

Reed ran into trouble on the ninth hole before attempting a difficult shot close to a tree root. After playing the awkward shot, he appeared to be struggling with his wrist and was eventually taken away from the course by cart.

The withdrawal represents a major setback for Reed’s ambitions on the DP World Tour. He arrived at Wentworth leading the Race to Dubai standings, narrowly ahead of Rory McIlroy, and had been hoping to strengthen his position with another strong showing.

Instead, his early exit gives McIlroy a valuable opening in the battle for the season-ending prize.

Rory McIlroy speaks out

McIlroy was asked about Reed’s withdrawal and his own position in the Race to Dubai battle, making it clear that his motivation to win remains unchanged regardless of who stands in his way.

The Northern Irishman also acknowledged the competitive history between the pair and paid tribute to Reed’s performances since leaving LIV Golf. With Reed unable to add to his points tally at Wentworth, McIlroy now has a chance to make significant ground this weekend.

McIlroy began the third round on eight under, four shots behind leader Ryan Gerard, and knows a strong finish could considerably reduce the gap between himself and Reed with only a few weeks of the season remaining.

Speaking about his long-running rivalry with Reed, McIlroy said: “Obviously Patrick and I have had quite the battles over years, whether it be Ryder Cup, final round in a major,” he said.

“Dubai Desert Classic a few years ago. He’s a great competitor and he’s played great all year. I respect him for how he’s went about it, and coming through here, he’s put his head down and done the work, and it’s actually been really good to see.

“Unfortunately he’s pulled out this week, which gives me an opportunity to try to claw back some ground that I lost last week in Ireland. This weekend is a big weekend for me to pick up a few points and make the race even tighter going into these last few weeks.”

A local claimed the development ‘blocks pedestrian access to key local facilities’

A company has been given the go-ahead to build new homes near a hospital. Palace Green Homes sought permission from East Cambridgeshire District Council to build 13 new homes on land south of The Princess of Wales Hospital in Ely.

Of the 13 new homes, eight will be houses and five will be apartments. The site forms a parcel of land, formerly within the hospital curtilage and provided staff and visitor parking. The Ely hospital is now undergoing extensive changes including a new multi-storey car park near the entrance. The homes will be built just a 30-minute walk away from the city centre.

The apartment building will be 2.5 storeys high, according to planning documents. The apartment building will provide two one-bedroom apartments and three two-bedroom apartments. The houses will be four two-bedroom and four three-bedroom. It is proposed that four homes will be offered as affordable housing.

The now approved development will deliver two parking spaces for each house and one parking space for one-bedroom flats. A planning document says: “The site is in a sustainable location with good access to the city centre and within an area of existing housing.”

Since the application’s submission, the proposals have faced local backlash. One local raised fears of “apparent blocking” of resident and staff pedestrian and cycle access to the hospital, GP surgery and bus stop. They said that new housing “would prevent” the hospital from expanding further.

“The local area needs more local NHS services, not fewer”, the objector said.

A similar concern was raised by another person who said the development would block pedestrian access to key local facilities, adding “no new paths or alternative routes are indicated in the plans, potentially hindering movement for hospital staff and local residents in the area”.

The objection added: “Residential development conflicts with the operational needs of the hospital, potentially causing disturbances. Insufficient provision for parking and turning could lead to congestion on already busy access roads. Lack of pedestrian footways or cycle paths exacerbates safety concerns, especially with additional traffic from new housing.”

Meanwhile, another objection said access to the site would be “wholly inadequate”. They added: “Many objectors to this application have made the undeniable point that so much new housing development in north Ely is either planned or in course of construction that there can be no case for need and/or benefit of a further 13 dwellings in this location.”

A neighbour lodged an objection with the district council about the narrow, single-track Redman Close road that experiences “regular congestion during school and community hours”. The objection says: “The increase in traffic from both construction and permanent residents will pose serious safety concerns, particularly for the many school-aged children who live and play here.

“I have small children myself, and they often access the field across from our property; the proposed increase in traffic represents a clear hazard.”

Tyla Chalmers-Millington, now 20, was given a suspended sentence by Preston Magistrates’ Court in September 2024 for his role in the disorder in the seaside resort following the tragic events in Southport.

He pleaded guilty on that occasion to one count of racially aggravated public order, harassment to unknown people, as well as alarm or distress by visible representation.

Chalmers-Millington, previously of Caunce Street, Blackpool, and now of Ukraine Road, Salford, appeared at Preston Crown Court over a video link from prison on Wednesday, September 16, after being found guilty in his absence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assault by beating, engaging in controlling/coercive behaviour, and three counts of strangulation.

Seren Lewis, prosecuting, said Chalmers-Millington and the victim, who is from Fleetwood, entered into a relationship in 2025 and that “not long in” the defendant became verbally and physically nasty towards her.

Tyla Chalmers-Millington (Image: Lancashire Police)

Chalmers-Millington blamed the victim, who was just 16 at the time the offending began, for him being evicted from a hostel and insisted that he lived at her address.

On one occasion, he grabbed her by the neck, pinned her down, and dug his thumb into her windpipe before going on to act like nothing had happened.

In June 2025, the victim had a house party which Chalmers-Millington attended. The next morning she was told the defendant had been arguing with two of her friends, which led him to tell her they were “toxic” and that she was to either block them and never speak to them again, or he would break up with her. She ultimately decided to cut her friends off.

The pair had another argument in July of that year, with the defendant pushing her into the walls and a wardrobe, resulting in bruising to her arms.

The victim described how she was not allowed to leave the house, even to walk the dog or go to the shop. Chalmers-Millington said she could only leave if he was there.

She was also prevented from wearing skirts or leggings, on one occasion being told she could only wear a skirt if she wore a pair of Chalmers-Millington’s boxer shorts or a pair of tights underneath, and he accused her of “wanting the attention of other guys.”

From that point on, she only left the house in a jumper and pair of jeans.

Chalmers-Millington was also controlling with money, saying “women shouldn’t have money” and told her in the future he would “have all the money” and she would have to ask permission to use it or buy anything.

The victim’s bank card was cancelled in August 2025 due to fraudulent activity and she agreed that all the income would now go into Chalmers-Millington’s account, who proceeded to spend the money on drugs.

Further arguments occurred where Chalmers-Millington punched the victim in the face, and where he got on top of the victim and covered her mouth, which led to her biting him on the hand.

The relationship finally ended in November 2025. The pair met at a hotel in Blackpool, where the defendant got the victim in a headlock, covered her mouth, and shouted “you can’t f*****g leave me.”

Preston Crown Court (Image: Anthony Moss)

The victim walked to the tram stop as Chalmers-Millington shouted at her, threatening to end his life. She got on the tram and went home, and that was the last she saw of him.

Chalmers-Millington’s offending put him in breach of the suspended sentence imposed for the disorder offences in 2024, an order which only expired less than two weeks before this hearing.

Anna Bond, mitigating, said that this was not a “healthy relationship” but that with intervention the defendant “may be capable of acknowledging further his part to play in that.”

She said Chalmers-Millington had found ways to cope with trauma from his youth by “getting angry, punching things, and self-medicating with drugs.”

Recorder Emma Fisher, sentencing, described Chalmers-Millington’s offending as a “vile, unforgiveable course of conduct.”

She said there was no realistic prospect of rehabilitation and that he presented a high risk of harm to others.

Chalmers-Millington was jailed for three years and three months. One month of the previous suspended sentence was activated, but will run concurrently to the other sentence.

A restraining order of five years was also imposed between him and the victim.

Anyone with information is being asked to come forward

A teenager who is missing from her home in Greater Manchester was last seen three days ago in Kirkham, Lancashire, police have revealed.

Greater Manchester Police are asking for help in locating Lexi, 15, so they can check she is safe and well. No surname for her has been revealed.

Lexi was last seen at 12pm on Wednesday 16 September at Bryning Farm Lane, Kirkham. She has links to Wigan.

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She is described as white, 5ft 5in tall, and was wearing a burgundy red coat, black flare leggings, a cream tube top and possibly New Balance trainers when she was last seen.

She has chest length black hair which was in a ponytail with clip in extensions and was carrying a clear bag, reports Lancs Live.

Officers are becoming increasingly concerned for Lexi’s wellbeing.

If you have seen her or have any information please contact Wigan Police on 0161 856 7165. In an emergency call 999.

Tonali tries to show Manzambi how it’s done and boots his own effort goalwards, this time low towards the corner. It curls wide, but Spurs are awarded a corner, and then another as Mings heads the ball out.

Tottenham go short, Robertson swings in a cross, Villa get it away, Bentancur takes on Gomes, knocks in another ball… and it’s corner number three thanks to Mings.

Ruggeri meets the cross at the front post, but only directs it into the danger zone! But Villa get it clear, temporarily.

Solanke is appealing for a handball but… nah mate. Checked and cleared by VAR.

Runners gathered in South Africa to pay tribute to Elizabeth Moselakgomo after her body was found east of Johannesburg.

She is one of nine women found in the Kempton Park area, since July.

The jogger, known as “Tsontso”, went missing during a routine run.

Runners organised an event in city of Centurion to honour her and defend women’s right to run freely.

“This is for her – we just want to live and go running and come back home without having to think that it may be one of us”, said Nonhle Mpohlo.

In Cape Town, people gathered in a vigil to honour the victims and called on the government to act.

The police have since set up a task team to investigate the murders and have urged women in the Kempton Park area to avoid walking or running alone “particularly in isolated areas”.

More about the murders sparking fear in South Africa.

West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo has spoken about the rivalry between the teams, but emphasised that matters will be played out on the pitch.

“All of us have experienced matches like this, they are so special for the clubs,” said the Portuguese manager. “I’ve been involved in many rivalries in my career, many of our players also – and we know everything is inside of the pitch.

“Inside of the pitch is where things happen, what dictates the games. It’s not the noise, it’s not the 40,000 or the 20,000, it’s inside the pitch. Of course, it’s a special game and we’re aware.”

MobLand season 2 is streaming weekly on Paramount+ and the crime drama continues to follow the Harrigans as they navigate the criminal underworld

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MobLand has returned with its eagerly awaited second series on Paramount+, and the gripping gangland drama continues to chart the struggles and challenges confronting the Harrigan family as they endeavour to cement their position at the pinnacle of the criminal underworld.

In the wake of the traumatic events of series one, the opening instalment portrayed Conrad Harrigan (played by Pierce Brosnan) as an unpredictable figure, showing no reluctance in pursuing extreme measures against a competing mob. At the same time, his bonds with his offspring remain fractured, with his daughter Seraphina (Mandeep Dhillon) ostracised and his son Kevin (Paddy Considine) still grappling with the consequences of his disloyalty.

Numerous startling disclosures have already emerged regarding the Harrigan lineage, particularly notably that Eddie Harrigan (Anson Boon) was not in fact Kevin’s son. Here is everything you need to know about the Harrigan family tree following the series two premiere.

Conrad Harrigan

Conrad serves as the head of the family, who originate from Ireland but operate from London. He is volatile and unrelenting but displays sensitivity around his wife, Maeve, despite their persistent quarrelling, reports the Express. His vulnerability lies in his impetuous character, with his hasty decisions frequently plunging him into yet more serious difficulties.

Maeve Harrigan

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The strong-willed and formidable female protagonist, Maeve Harrigan, serves as the family’s matriarch who fiercely maintains her independence and frequently acts without her husband Conrad’s knowledge. Maeve would go to great lengths for her children, with one notable exception – Seraphina, Conrad’s daughter from a different relationship.

Kevin Harrigan

Kevin is Conrad’s son, who ultimately turned against his father at the conclusion of series one, recognising that Conrad’s power was diminishing. Kevin and Conrad share a turbulent relationship and regularly clash, particularly after it emerged that Conrad had an affair with his wife, Bella.

Bella Harrigan

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Bella is Kevin’s spouse in the programme and Eddie Harrigan’s mother. She harboured a dark secret, knowing that Kevin was not truly Eddie’s biological father. While Bella possesses considerable power independently, she frequently crumbles when placed under strain.

Eddie Harrigan

Eddie Harrigan is Bella’s son and he shares a particularly close relationship with Maeve Harrigan, whom he believes to be his grandmother. Eddie represents the defiant youngster who fancies himself as invincible, much like his grandfather (or in fact, father), though his vulnerabilities are often exposed.

Seraphina Harrigan

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Seraphina ranks amongst the family’s most profitable members and oversees money laundering operations, yet while she proves a valuable resource to much of the family, she frequently becomes Maeve’s target, who remains determined to prevent Conrad from naming her as his heir. Seraphina is Conrad’s daughter, born from an affair Conrad had with an exotic dancer. Her unwavering loyalty to Conrad has made her among his most cherished children.

Brendan Harrigan

The eldest son of Conrad and Maeve, Brendan, met a tragic end in the opening season after he and Seraphina fell into the hands of a Mexican cartel run by Jaime Lopez (Jordi Mollà). His horrific and violent death was broadcast live to the Harrigan family, who watched helplessly as he was attacked with a chainsaw. Remarkably, Seraphina managed to escape without injury.

MobLand season 2 is streaming weekly on Paramount+.

Mounting defence expenditure is widening Russia’s budget deficit and increasing strain across its wartime economy, as business and consumer sentiment weakens and economic growth slows.

Economists note, however, that these difficulties do not point to an immediate financial meltdown or economic collapse. High global oil prices linked to the Iran war continue to shore up essential export revenues, allowing the state to fund its four-and-a-half-year-old invasion of Ukraine – for now.

In addition, low unemployment rates and generous government spending in poorer regions are helping to suppress domestic discontent.

This economic baseline fits the Kremlin’s narrative of stability during Russia’s stage-managed parliamentary election, which began on Friday and runs until Sunday.

Yet experts caution that underlying long-term challenges are steadily weakening the economy, creating risks that could eventually precipitate a crisis.

Consumers are more pessimistic

Indicators of consumer sentiment have drifted down since a peak in 2024-25, when increased military spending was pumping up growth and wages. More recently, consumers have coped with higher fuel prices and shortages due to Ukrainian drone attacks that knocked out refineries.

Many small businesses have lost inventory and customers due to strikes against online retailers Wildberries and Ozon.

At the same time, growth has slowed from a peak of over 4 per cent annual expansion in 2023-24. The government foresees 0.6 per cent this year, and the economy shrank in the first quarter before rebounding somewhat in the second.

The consumer sentiment index compiled by the Levada Centre, an independent Russian pollster, fell to 94 over the summer, down from 116 in spring and summer of 2025. Readings under 100 indicate that consumer sentiment is more negative than positive.

People asked about the election in Moscow responded with mostly basic concerns about pensions and prices.

Alexander Vertukhin, a 72-year-old retired military prosecutor, said the government should be focusing on “a decent standard of living for pensioners”.

As for his own situation, “I’m doing fine, both financially and in every other respect”, he said.

“Overall I’d like housing to become more affordable, I’d like pensioners to be able to live decently instead of merely surviving,” said Dmitry Kirillin, 26.

“I’d also like travel in our country to be more affordable. Those are the main things that first come to mind, if I gave it more thought I could probably name more.”

He added, “I’d like prices to rise more slowly, if that’s possible in the current situation.”

The fuel situation and Wildberries strikes have made the war more visible to people but do not constitute a crisis, said Chris Weafer, CEO of the Macro-Advisory Ltd. consultancy active across the former Soviet Union. He described the economy as in a state of “tolerable stability” and the public mood as “grumbling” but not protesting.

“The economy is under strain – it’s stagnant to the effect that it’s stable but not growing,” Mr Weafer said.

“But it’s not facing recession either.”

Most people “are not that affected” by the Ukrainian strikes, he said. “Just because your shopping habits are disrupted, that’s not going to change the public support for the Kremlin.”

President Vladimir Putin’s approval rating has declined in recent months but remains higher than it was before the war started in 2022.

Russia’s budget deficit is climbing

One key sign of stress is Russia’s budget deficit and the government’s efforts to find new sources of money. Putin has resorted to increasing value-added tax paid by consumers at the cash register, raising a raft of other fees and tightening taxation of small businesses. But the deficit has continued to climb.

By the end of July, budget data showed a deficit of 2.8 per cent of annual economic output – almost twice the original annual budget target. Available resources in Russia’s reserve fund have dwindled to 1.6 per cent of GDP, meaning the Kremlin needs to borrow from domestic banks.

That, however, means paying high borrowing costs, with interest rates on Russian bonds as high as 17 per cent, according to Janis Kluge, an expert on Russia’s finances at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

Budget stress is “adding to doubts about how long Russia can sustain the war”, he wrote in a recent report. Russia’s central bank has kept rates high to contain the inflation caused by war spending. That stresses civilian companies who don’t get the privileged access to credit afforded defence firms.

Another source of war funding has been increased private lending by Russia’s compliant banks to defence-related companies, meaning those debts are not showing up in the deficit figures.

Western sanctions hit hard

Over the long term, Western sanctions deprive Russia of new investment that would make the economy more productive.

And the risk factors – high spending, low growth, rising debt and elevated borrowing costs – lead some economists to warn that while Russia’s economy has not collapsed, its structural foundations are eroding dangerously.

The current trajectory is “unsustainable”, according to Torbjörn Becker at the Stockholm School of Economics. Still, “the timing of a crisis remains highly uncertain”.

Higher oil prices help Russia

Oil export earnings, which had fallen below US$10 billion per month ahead of the Iran war, rebounded to $15.8 billion by June and $13.8 billion in July.

Russia’s budget constraints “may effectively disappear for as long as elevated energy prices persist,” Mr Becker wrote.

To change that, tougher measures against Russia’s sanctions-evading oil tanker fleet must be a priority, he argued.

Poor regions benefit from war spending

Money for defence factories and enlistment bonuses has been a boon to Russia’s provinces, which are poorer than Moscow and St. Petersburg. With factories often running full blast, unemployment is just 2.2 per cent nationwide.

The Uralvagonzavod tank factory in Nizhny Tagil in the Urals region increased its workforce from about 20,000 to more than 38,000 since the invasion of Ukraine as it launched 24-hour production, according to a recent report from the Centre for Strategic & International Studies on Russia’s defence industries.

Kupol, which makes drones and surface-to-air missiles, is the largest industrial enterprise in the Udmurtia region on the Volga River and more than doubled its output in 2025.

Shortages of skilled labor are restraining production in defence firms and across the economy, compounded by the emigration of several hundred thousand mostly younger people due to fears of conscription and political repression.

Kremlin says stability is ‘ensured’

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said month-to-month deficit figures were volatile and that “this is not a figure that should be cause for concern. Macroeconomic stability is absolutely ensured.”

But the chief economist of Russia’s state-owned VEB.RF state development bank, Andrei Klepach, warned in a speech that due to sanctions and economic isolation, “we’re falling behind in the technological and economic competition in the world”, and that “we can’t win the competition in this war of attrition”.

He was fired.

A US hotel guest said he was forced to leave the building via a fire escape at around 1:15am before hearing what he believed were “a couple of explosions”.

Jeff Gardner, 44, said over a hundred people had rushed out of the hotel in the early hours of the morning, with many left watiting for hours before being given somewhere to stay.

Mr Gardner, who is from Texas, was staying at the hotel as part of an ancestry trip, where he was visiting places connected to the results of his DNA test. The fire broke out on the first night of his two-night stay.

He said he saw “grey smoke that turned blacker,” and heard “a couple of explosions” which he assumed were cars or gas tanks blowing up.

Describing how some guests had been forced to leave the hotel without being fully dressed, he said: “Some people in pyjamas and one guy just had some sweatpants on,” he said. At least I got my clothes. I didn’t get my bag. I don’t have my passport.”