Glasgow golfer Marc Warren may have suffered play-off heartache in the BMW PGA Championship two years ago but the European Tour's flagship remains the object of his desires.

The 34-year-old, a three-time winner on the main circuit, was heading into today's second round at Wentworth in a purposeful mood after opening his campaign with a four-under 68 over the West course.

That left Warren in s share of third place, three shots behind Francesco Molinari who pulled off a spectacular Italian Job with a seven-under 65 as he surged to the top.

Warren came close to landing the biggest title of his career in the 2013 BMW PGA Championship but lost out in a three-man play-off.

And the former Walker Cup star, who bridged a seven year title gap on the Tour last year by winning in Denmark, insists the desire to make amends for that loss continues to be a major driving force.

Warren said: "I think Justin Rose called this 'a bucket list' tournament earlier this week, it's one you want to win.

"When you come so close, like I did, it definitely gets you fired up and when you come back, you want to kind of right the wrongs of the past."

Warren made a good job of doing that with a profitable outward half that spawned four birdies. As the wind picked up, the former World Cup winner battled hard to safeguard his position on the back nine. Despite a bogey on 13, Warren finished with a flourish and cracked a 5-wood into the par-5 18th to within 25-feet which eventually led to a tap-in birdie after his eagle attempt just missed.

Glasgow-born Chris Doak, the former Scottish PGA champ who was 11th at Wentworth last year, opened with a level-par 72 while Cathkin Braes man Scott Jamieson had to settle for a two-over 74.

At the head of the pack, Molinari reeled off five birdies on a blistering back nine as he opened up a two shot lead over Sweden's Robert Karlsson.

"Dropping out of the world's top 50 hasn't helped help me because it means I need to play more events," said Molinari, who is juggling competition on both sides of the Atlantic. "It's a challenge for my game to play more over there, and that's the main reason why I did it. I think it's helping my game to improve though and hopefully I'll get the rewards soon."

Defending champ Rory McIlroy opened with a one-under 71 on a frustrating day for the world No 1.

He said: "Mentally I could feel myself getting a little angry out there. I feel like my patience was wearing a bit thin and I felt I was standing still at one-under."