Willett: I’m no longer Humpty Dumpty of golf

DANNY Willett believes he is no longer golf’s version of Humpty Dumpty as he targets a first victory since the 2016 Masters.

Willett carded a second round of 65 in the Turkish Airlines Open to lie two shots off the lead held by defending champion Justin Rose, who will return to world No 1 with victory at Regnum Carya Golf Resort tomorrow.

Rose’s second consecutive 65 gave him a halfway total of 12 under par and means he is now a combined 50 under for his 10 rounds in the £5.4 million event.

Tom Lewis and 2016 champion Thorbjorn Olesen share second place with Willett on 10 under par, with Lewis carding a flawless 63 that was just one shot outside Olesen’s course record.

Willett reached a career-high of world No 9 after claiming his first major title at Augusta National, but slumped outside the top 450 earlier this year after suffering injuries and a loss of form.

A missed cut in the French Open was his ninth in 12 events, but the 31-year-old bounced back to finish sixth in the Irish Open, 19th in the Scottish Open and 24th in the Open at Carnoustie, his best finish in any major since the 2016 Masters.

Willett said: “The body is in the best place it’s been in probably five or six years now and the golf game is going along with it. I can get up and have 16-hour days if I want to.

“It was like Humpty Dumpty: every time you finished playing you’ve got to put him back together again. It’s nice that we can put more time in. The more you practise the better chance you give yourself.”