Danny Willett Is at It Again

If you thought Danny Willett would be down after he couldn't get it done in St. Andrews last week, you've got another thing coming. He followed up his first-round 65 with a 63 in the second round of the ET's Omega European Masters in Crans Montana, Switzerland.



The Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club is part of the Crans-Montana ski resort and isn't really all that difficult, from what I understand. It's only 6,848 yards -- short by PGA Tour standards -- and at just under 5000 feet above sea level, it plays even shorter. But the course is hilly and fairly tight, and winds can be a problem.

Unless you're Danny Willett, that is.



It seems to me that the biggest problem would be the views. How do you concentrate when you can gaze out over mountain lakes and see snow covering the Alps in midsummer?

David Lipsky, the American player who got his ET card last year by winning this event, is doing pretty well. He's 5 shots off Willett's -13 lead. But the immediate challengers are Y.E. Yang (the 2009 PGA winner) and Seuk-hyun Baek, just a stroke back. No one else is closer than 4 shots back after the second round.

For my American readers, Peter Uilein is at -6 and Patrick Reed is at -4. Along with Lipsky, they're the leading Americans at the event. But with so many rounds in the low 60s, I suppose almost anybody could conceivably win this event with a good weekend. Willett will have his hands full holding off the challengers.

But for my money, the ultimate winner is probably Sergio Garcia. He's only at -1 but he owns a chalet there. With the Alps in your backyard, who cares about the score?