Robert Karlsson shoots course-record 62 at Wentworth after dashing back from Monaco

Karlsson shoots record 62; thought he missed cut

WENTWORTH, England — Robert Karlsson shot a course record 9-under 62 Saturday to take an early share of the third-round lead at the BMW PGA Championship after returning overnight from Monaco in the mistaken belief he’d missed the cut.

The Swede shot the lowest score at the remodeled course since the European PGA event was first played in 1955 at Wentworth, England.

Karlsson is at 6 under to share the lead with Luke Donald of England, who had yet to begin his third round.

Karlsson was near his home in Monaco when he got a phone call indicating he’d be playing on the weekend. He flew to Paris, slept for two hours, then paid $11,000 for a private jet to take him to London, arriving at the course an hour before his tee time.

“Don’t touch my putter it might burn you,” Karlsson said after making nine birdie putts. “Luckily, I snatched a couple of hours sleep at Orly (Airport in Paris). After making three early birdies, I just decided to keep going.

“When you start like that it is easy to sit back and protect those birdies and maybe shoot a 70, but I decided to keep going and my caddy said at the 9th: ‘We’ve been invited to this party, so let’s party.’”