Danny Willett in contention as Bernd Wiesberger leads at Maybank Championship

Masters champion Danny Willett continued his strong start at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia, where the 29-year-old Englishman trails leader Bernd Wiesberger by a single stroke.

The Sheffield player has carded rounds of 66 and 67, as he seeks to register his first victory since Augusta National last spring.

Since becoming a major winner 10 months ago, Willett has struggled for consistency but, on Friday at Saujana, produced another excellent round.

The delighted Yorkshireman said: "I played really well yesterday and it was a little bit scrappy today but there was a storm brewing a few hours ago and the wind was flicking around, so it was tough to get club selection right.

"I holed a couple of nice putts when I needed to. I missed a couple of good chances too but, if someone had told me at the start of the day five under, I would have bitten their hand off.

"The last few weeks I've been trying to hit fade and I've been hitting them straight left and getting in all sorts of problems, so everything has come on nicely.

"I've been working hard so it's nice to see it on the course."

So far, in 36 holes, Willett has made just a single bogey and on Saturday will partner leader Wiesberger who posted a joint best-of-tournament 63 in round two.

The Austrian produced a brilliant burst of form midway through his round, making nine birdies in a row from the seventh hole, en route to his nine-under-par score.

He played the back nine in just 30 shots, which included a bogey-five at 17.

Wiesberger is the first player in European Tour history to card nine straight birdies in a round however, with preferred lies in place, where players are allowed to improve the ball's lie without penalty on certain parts of the course, he will not enter the record books.

He said: "I hit really good shots and I just felt calm out there. It felt kind of natural.

"I really only holed two long ones which were the last birdie of the nine on 15, and about a 20-footer on 11.

"Apart from that I just hit them pretty close and felt like I had a good idea of what the ball was going to do on the green today."

However, overnight pacesetter Marc Warren slipped 13 spots down the leaderboard with a three-over-par 75.

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After reaching 12 under for 30 holes, the Scot covered the remaining half-dozen in six over par, highlighted by a triple-bogey seven at the last.

He came home in 41 shots and is now six shots adrift of Weisberger.