Danny Willett recorded his first professional win on UK soil beating Jon Rahm in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

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 champion was locked in a tense battle with the determined Spaniard all weekend at Wentworth Club as Rahm sought to join his hero Seve Ballesteros as a winner on the West Course.

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 10 holes courtesy of four birdies – to Rahm’s two.

But the fomer World Amateur No. 1 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 during the week on the Burma Road course.

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 to card a five-under 67 and a 20-under total.

Willett said: “I’ve watched this tournament for a lot of years. You know, through the Match Play and then obviously the BMW PGA Championship.

“It’s always nice to be able to compete on home soil. I’ve had a couple looks at The Open a couple of times, but to be able to win finally on such an iconic golf course, with I think one of the best fields they have had.

“The last kind of eight or 10 months with a couple of wins in the Rolex Series Events – it’s really put things right in my own mind, which is nice.

“You know Jon is going to be sticking around all day. I obviously got off to a quick start and 11 was a real big point in the golf tournament.

“I’ve watched a lot of the golf on TV and the people that win every week are not the guys that hit every fairway and hit everything to six feet.

“Certain things happen through the week. And one of those moments might happen on a Sunday, might happen on a Thursday or a Friday,” said the golfer who played as a junior at Rotherham GC.

“But for it to happen on Sunday early on in the back nine was crucial just to keep my nose in front really – just to give me that little bit of breathing room down them last six holes.

“Any tournament win is amazing. That’s now my seventh win on Tour, and every single time I’ve won, they have been pretty stellar events against pretty stellar fields and the Ryder Cup stuff.

Willett, whose Ryder Cup debut at Hazeltine in 2016 was overshadowed by comments made by his brother about the Amercian team, said: “It’s the first event of what, 40-odd (qualification events), whatever it’s going to be, for a year’s time when it’s back in America, Whistling Straits.”

The Yorkshireman, who won the English Amateur in 2009 before turning pro, moved to ninth in the Race to Dubai rankings.

Rahm – who was also a former No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings – had gone for broke on the final hole by going for the green with a second shot which ended up in the water.

But the Arizona State University graduate bravely got up and down and signed for a final round 70 and a 17-under total.

Rahm said: “I’m not going to lie. It hurts. It stings. I played good all week, and up until the 13th hole, I was incapable of hitting an iron close to the pin and made a couple stupid mistakes.

“I should have come closer than two shots on the last two holes. I had my chances.

“Again, I did what I had to do. Just had a couple of really stupid mistakes there. I’m just going to have to figure out why it happened and that’s it.

“At the same time, Danny played amazing golf. He played really, really good. I believe that 11th hole was the key moment of the match.

“He had a long, long putt for bogey and I had a decent look for a birdie, and he makes a bomb for a bogey and I missed my putt right,” said the Irish Open winner.

“That was at least a one-shot swing right there and if he doesn’t make it, I’m putting more relaxed without the whole crowd going crazy.

“That was a key moment of the match,” added Rahm, who has won three Rolex events in his four European Tour victories.

South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout 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.

America’s Wentworth debutants – Billy Horschel and Patrick Reed – shared fourth spot while home hero Justin Rose took outright eighth spot.

Four-time Major winner Rory McIlroy, who shot 76 on Thursday, shared ninth spot with Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston, the former Middlesex amateur, who was also a member at Wentworth for a while before turning pro.

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Italian Francesco Molinari believes beating Rory McIlroy down the stretch at Wentworth’s West Course, in May 2018, gave him the courage to claim the Claret Jug two months later at Carnoustie. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

FRANCESCO Molinari is hoping to feed off the energy of the crowds this week as the Italian returns to defend his BMW PGA Championship title at Wentworth Club.

The 36-year-old overcame Rory McIlroy down the stretch in nerveless fashion last year.

Victory on the West Course kicked off a career-defining run of form which included his Open Championship triumph at Carnoustie, a record-breaking Ryder Cup performance and the title of European Tour No. 1.

Molinari said: “This week has always been special to me, even before last year, but obviously last year made it extra, extra special.

“Obviously I’ve got beautiful memories from last year. The duel with Rory on Sunday, and finally getting my hands on the trophy – it obviously gave me a lot of confidence for the coming months after that.

“I was watching a video yesterday of the last few holes on Sunday, and you could see I was uncomfortable in that position.

“I think that was the first step forward to getting more comfortable in leading a tournament and closing it out.”

Molinari leads one of the strongest fields in the tournament’s long history, joined among others by the man who succeeded him as Open Champion in July, Shane Lowry.

The Irishman was honoured by the European Tour for his achievement at Royal Portrush two months ago, following Molinari onto the esteemed list of life honorary members.

Lowry said of his award: “It’s pretty cool, isn’t it. You start playing golf when you’re a kid and you don’t know how good you can be, even when you started playing as a pro. I didn’t know that I would get to this day but it’s pretty cool.

“I’ve joined a nice list of names, which is pretty good. Obviously, my heart lies with the European Tour – I’ll always be a member.

“I love coming back and I love playing in events like this. It’s an extreme privilege.”

“I love it here. I think this is one of my favourite events in the world. Every time I come here, the area around Wentworth – Ascot, Sunningdale – it’s just a lovely place to be.

“The golf course, I’ve always really liked. Even when they made the changes first back in 2010.

“I actually really liked it and I just thought it was quite a difficult golf course and I just loved it. It’s one of my favourite events of the year and I just love coming back.

“I’ve got quite a few events left this year, and they are all big events. I’m obviously No. 1 in the Race to Dubai now – and I want to stay there.

“But I’m going to have to play some good golf and I’m going to have to maybe win again.

“But I’m just going to go out like I’ve been doing all year, day after day and try and shoot as good a score as I can and see where it leaves me the at the end of it. First and foremost, I want to win the Race to Dubai at the end of the year.”

Billy Horschel and Patrick Reed, meanwhile, are among the American stars playing the BMW PGA Championship for the first time this week, along with Ryder Cup player Tony Finau.

The date change from May to September allowed them to fit the prestigious tournament into their schedules.

Both European Tour members, they are relishing the opportunity to play the famous West Course for the first time in the fourth Rolex Series event of the 2019 Race to Dubai

Horschel, who played in the 2007 Walker Cup against Rory McIlroy, as an amateur at Royal County Down, said: “I’m excited.

“ I’ve been trying to get over to Europe to play a few European Tour events over the last few years, and unfortunately hasn’t worked in the schedule.

“This being one of the key ones, I grew up watching this event on TV. This event has always been a soft spot in my heart.

“When the schedule worked out with the new schedules on both tours and moved back to September compared to May, I was like, go ahead, sign me up. I’ll be there.”

Reed, who began playing in Europe even before his Masters win at Augusta, in 2018, said: “It’s amazing here. I thought the golf course was a lot of fun.

“I thought it was challenging in parts. It’s one of these golf courses you have to work the ball both ways.

“You’ve got the greens that are very firm, very fast, yet you have fairways that are a little softer, so you hit tee shots and the ball doesn’t quite go as far and the iron shots seem to have a lot of bounce in them.

“It’s going to be a premium this week on hitting fairways and playing from the right spots because you can put yourself in some bad spots here on these greens.”

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