Danny Willett’s purple patch continued as the Englishman grabbed the clubhouse lead before thunderstorms brought the second round to a premature close.

Before the klaxons sounded at 5.52pm to herald the end of play, Willett lit up Golf Club Crans-sur-Sierre with an electrifying display of his own, notching nine birdies in a near-faultless round of 62 to move to the head of affairs on 13 under par.

That impressive total gave Willett – currently third in The Race to Dubai – a one-shot lead at the midway stage of the €2.7 million tournament. Second place is currently shared by the Korean duo of Seukhyun Baek and YE Yang, Asia’s first major champion, who both shot rounds of 63 to move to 12 under par.

Swedish amateur sensation Marcus Kinhult, who recently co-led the Nordea Masters after two days, again showed maturity beyond his tender years to compile a round of 66 for a nine under par total.

Further down the leaderboard, World No.18 Patrick Reed will enter the weekend on four under par, whilst his Ryder Cup opponent Lee Westwood is almost certain to make the cut on three under/ Spaniard Sergio Garcia, meanwhile, faces an anxious wait to see if his one under par aggregate total will be good enough.