Danny Willett shot a four-under-par 68 on Friday to climb to 10-under-par for the tournament and hold a three shot lead at the BMW PGA Championship.
The Englishman had an excellent front nine on the Wentworth Club course as he stormed out of the blocks with four birdies in a row from the third to the sixth. A par at the seventh was then followed by further birdies at the eighth and ninth. No dropped shots on the front side meant the 28-year-old turned an astonishing 29 shots.
He stood top of the leaderboard at 12-under-par and had a five shot lead at the start of the back nine. The run of birdies promptly ended for Willett as he dropped his first shot of the tournament at the 10th. He managed to pick the shot up again at the 14th, but disaster struck next.
The Masters champion inexplicably went on a run of three straight bogeys and slipped to nine-under-par. The 2014 Nedbank Challenge winner did find some consolation by birdieing the 18th to sign for his 68.
Overnight leaders Scott Hend, Joost Luiten and Y.E. Yang were the closest threats to Willett’s lead, while a few golfers had yet to start their afternoon rounds.
