Published July 17, 2008 on September 23, 2019

Willett’s Wentworth Wizardry Earns BMW PGA Triumph

---

Danny Willett claimed his second Rolex Series title in successive seasons as the Englishman overcame Jon Rahm in stunning fashion to win the BMW PGA Championship title, his first victory on home soil.

The former Masters Tournament champion was locked in a tense battle with the determined Spaniard all weekend at Wentworth Club and there were turning points aplenty for the 21,962 fans in attendance – but none more so than at the 11^th.

Having entered the final round tied for the lead, Willett had pulled two clear through ten holes courtesy of four birdies – to Rahm’s two – but found himself in some trouble with his second and third shots at the par four 11^th, leaving himself with a monster putt for bogey.

He duly drained it for a five, though, with one of his many masterful escapes this week at the Surrey venue, and thereafter the wind was taken from Rahm’s sails – the 24-year-old bogeyed two of the following three holes with a birdie in between.

Willett, who won the final Rolex Series event of the 2018 season – the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai – closed out a deserved three-stroke victory with birdies at the two closing par fives for a five under 67 and a 20 under total. The Englishman moved to ninth in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex.

Rahm had gone for broke on the final hole by going for the green with a second shot which ended up in the water, but he bravely got up and down and signed for a final round 70 and a 17 under total.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout of South Africa earned his best result in a Rolex Series event as he took outright third spot with a 16 under total, after closing out the week with a four under 68. American debutants at Wentworth, Billy Horschel and Patrick Reed, shared fourth spot while home hero Justin Rose took outright eighth spot and four-time Major winner Rory McIlroy shared ninth spot with Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston.

 

Final Scores

268 D Willett (Eng) 68 65 68 67,
271 J Rahm (Esp) 66 67 68 70,
272 C Bezuidenhout (RSA) 68 67 69 68,
273 B Horschel (USA) 72 65 71 65, P Reed (USA) 70 70 67 66,
275 R Ramsay (Sco) 71 68 67 69, R Cabrera Bello (Esp) 69 70 67 69,
276 J Rose (Eng) 67 68 69 72,
277 A Johnston (Eng) 69 70 69 69, R McIlroy (Nir) 76 69 65 67,
278 V Hovland (Nor) 69 69 70 70, S Lowry (Irl) 72 71 69 66, P Casey (Eng) 68 69 71 70,
279 K Kitayama (USA) 71 71 68 69, E Van Rooyen (RSA) 70 74 67 68, F Molinari (Ita) 69 70 69 71,
280 B Wiesberger (Aut) 74 67 69 70, H Stenson (Swe) 66 69 74 71, S Sharma (Ind) 71 67 66 76, R Langasque (Fra) 69 74 70 67,
281 P Waring (Eng) 70 71 68 72, A Putnam (USA) 71 67 70 73, A Chesters (Eng) 70 73 68 70,
282 J Smith (Eng) 69 71 70 72, J Lagergren (Swe) 70 71 71 70,
283 T Pulkkanen (Fin) 71 73 69 70, A Rai (Eng) 71 70 72 70,
284 R Macintyre (Sco) 69 72 70 73, M Schwab (Aut) 70 75 70 69, A Noren (Swe) 69 72 69 74,
285 R Sterne (RSA) 71 71 70 73, M Jiménez (Esp) 69 74 74 68, S Horsfield (Eng) 71 71 70 73, J Suri (USA) 71 74 69 71, R Fisher (Eng) 70 73 66 76, J Luiten (Ned) 68 72 73 72,
286 B Hebert (Fra) 72 72 69 73, T Pieters (Bel) 73 71 70 72, M Korhonen (Fin) 71 69 71 75, M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 70 70 75 71,
287 A Wu (Chn) 72 73 68 74, R Paratore (Ita) 71 71 71 74, S Kjeldsen (Den) 73 71 73 70, G Fdez-Castaño (Esp) 70 73 70 74, M Wallace (Eng) 65 76 72 74,
288 M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 73 71 74 70, R Knox (Sco) 69 71 76 72, M Kinhult (Swe) 70 72 75 71, P Harrington (Irl) 73 72 75 68, A Pavan (Ita) 68 76 75 69,
289 T Finau (USA) 70 68 77 74, H Li (Chn) 71 72 70 76, A Björk (Swe) 76 69 76 68, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 73 72 71 73, C Wood (Eng) 70 75 71 73, Y Miyazato (Jpn) 71 72 71 75,
290 S Jamieson (Sco) 68 77 75 70, N Colsaerts (Bel) 73 66 78 73, M Kaymer (Ger) 70 74 73 73,
291 T Fleetwood (Eng) 70 75 70 76, J Guerrier (Fra) 69 76 77 69, I Poulter (Eng) 73 70 77 71, B Grace (RSA) 72 72 68 79,
292 E Els (RSA) 68 76 76 72, S Soderberg (Swe) 68 77 76 71, E Molinari (Ita) 71 74 75 72, S Brown (Eng) 69 75 74 74, A Quiros (Esp) 69 75 76 72,
294 T Immelman (RSA) 71 74 73 76, R Coles (Eng) 71 74 76 73,
296 G Coetzee (RSA) 68 72 79 77,
297 G Green (Mas) 72 73 72 80, D Law (Sco) 75 69 78 75,
302 A Sullivan (Eng) 71 74 76 81,