Danny Willett wilts after record front nine at Wentworth

World No 9 falls apart on back nine but is still 10-under par

Danny Willett had a mixed second day at the BMW PGA Championship (Getty)

Danny Willett veered from the sublime to the ridiculous, following a record 29 on the front nine with an inward half of 39 as he set the early second-round pace at the BMW PGA Championship on Friday.

The US Masters champion surged to the top of the leaderboard with a scintillating burst of scoring on another sunny day at Wentworth that yielded six birdies in seven holes to the ninth. The journey home was a completely different story, though, as Willett frittered away shot after shot before a birdie at the long 18th gave him a four-under-par 68 and a 10-under tally of 134 at the European Tour's flagship event.

“I chucked a couple of horrid golf shots in there and it was nice to make a birdie at the last,” Willett said after finding it tough to cope with swirling winds on the outskirts of London. “I could have chucked it away and finished really poorly but ... it shows a little bit of mental strength. It was tough to double check yardages with the blustery winds.”

Willett's front-nine 29 represented a tournament record but the 28-year-old Englishman also had a lucky escape on the 17th when, bending over in the rough by the trees, his sunglasses almost fell on his ball.

Willett responded with a relieved giggle when he asked John Paramor if the glasses had touched the ball and the tournament official said “no”. The world No 9 would have incurred a one-shot penalty if the ball had moved.