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Armed with a three wood, six-iron and pitching
wedge, the 39-year-old PGA professional, raced around nine holes
of the Fire Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in 20 minutes and 12
seconds.
His incredible pace, despite temperatures in Dubai reaching 34
degrees, earned him the Guinness World Record for the fastest
nine holes ever recorded by an individual player.
"I am absolutely thrilled to have set this record," Willett said
after the challenge on Sunday ahead of the DP World Tour
Championship which starts at the Jumeirah club on Thursday.
"It's an incredible feeling to push the boundaries of what's
possible in the sport, and I'm grateful for the opportunity
provided by DP World."
It is not the first time Willett, a pro at Sunningdale Heath,
has exploded the myth that a round of golf takes all day.
He recently completed a fundraising effort for the Golf
Foundation in which he played speed rounds at each of the 14
courses to have staged the British Open, in addition to running
a marathon in each of the respective towns.
His scorecard was not too shoddy either, taking just 78 shots at
Scottish course Muirfield in a time of 42 minutes.
Willett said less thinking time actually helps.
"I used to get really bogged down with anxiety. I'd see out of
bounds on the right, bunkers on the left, narrow lines down the
middle and it actually got a bit too much for me," he said after
his Open challenge.
"When I started running round, all of a sudden I didn't have
enough time to procrastinate. It became what I call positive
golf and I essentially saw my target and hit my target."
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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