Danny Willett of England birdied his last three holes for a 6-under 65 Thursday to take the clubhouse lead in the first round of the BMW PGA Championship.
Playing on the revamped West Course for the first time, Willett had nine birdies to go with three bogeys to take a one-shot lead ahead of Richard Green of Australia. Ross Fisher of England was another shot back in third.
"I got off to a really good start with two birdies in my first three holes,'' Willett said. "The golf course does suit my eye and I find it's pretty similar to American-style golf courses with some fairly big trees around the layout, though it's pretty soft at the moment so you have to flight the ball pretty high into the greens to get it close.''
Ernie Els, who redesigned the course, bogeyed the last hole for a 69 while Padraig Harrington had a triple bogey on the par-5 17th to settle for a 71.
Sixth-ranked Ian Poulter only managed a disappointing 70, while Ryder Cup hopeful Martin Kaymer of Germany carded a 76.
Fisher is a member at Wentworth and is looking to improve on his runner-up finish from last year. He had an inconsistent round, however, mixing nine birdies with three bogeys and a double bogey on the par-4 13th.
Having struggled recently, Fisher said the round showed he's on the right track.
"It's very, very pleasing and it felt like the game's been there for a very long time,'' Fisher said. ``I have really struggled pretty much all of this year (and) just haven't holed the putts.''
