Willett shoots 65 to open European Masters title defense

Australia’s Marcus Fraser, Richard Green and Scott Hend are among a clutch of players sitting one shot off the lead at the European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre in Switzerland.

Fitzpatrick was seven over par for his first 14 holes on Thursday and eventually signed for a 75, but went 10 shots better on Friday and survived on the mark of level par thanks to four birdies in the last five holes.

Andrew Johnston is another shot back, but Masters champion Danny Willett, who won this event a year ago, struggled with inconsistency as a triple-bogey on the 12th hole bumped him down to three-under overall after a round of 72.

Hend got back within one with a birdie on the 15th hole and, after Noren three-putted on the 17th, the pair were tied atop the board with just one to play.

Noren had trailed Hend by one stroke overnight, but he birdied the first before responding to a Hend birdie at the fifth by reeling off four in a row to cap a superb outward 30, although he then bogeyed the next only for Hend to drop his first shot of the round at the 11th.

But, from 30 feet and to the delight of the Swiss crowds, Noren duly sank his birdie putt to clinch a sixth career European Tour victory, which moved him to eighth in the Race to Dubai and on course for the best campaign of his career.

Westwood, who started the week by securing a 10th consecutive Ryder Cup appearance thanks to a wild card from captain Darren Clarke, had set the clubhouse target on 12 under courtesy of a birdie on the last completing a flawless 63. “It’s only golf. It’s not my whole life anymore”. “Sometimes you have 160 metres and you have to hit a nine iron so you have to be really focused, take the decision before the shot and understand some good shots will miss and some bad shots can finish good”. If this win had come a few weeks earlier, Noren would probably have been headed for his first Ryder Cup. Still, a first-round 72 on Thursday left the 1999 European Masters victor too far back to challenge.

“It was a good day, a little bit tougher playing in the afternoon here”.

“He (Alex) played fantastic golf today but I didn’t play quite well enough”.

Lee Westwood of England, a pick by captain Darren Clarke to face the United States at Hazeltine, Minnesota, from September 30, shot a 4-under 66 to move to 2 under.