WILLETT ENDS TWO-YEAR TITLE FAMINE
Willett’s joy as he lands first title since 2016 Masters
How could it possibly have got any sweeter than this for Danny willett? All those who labelled him a Masters onehit wonder should have been here yesterday to see him outduel the current Augusta champion, Patrick Reed, to win the DP world Tour Championship and confirm his return to the big-time.
This is an epic tale of redemption compiled by the personable 31-year-old, who fell so far after winning the green jacket in 2016 that by this May, he was ranked 462nd in the world.
only true champions come back from such a precipitous decline. only those who have what it takes on a Sunday afternoon at a Grand Slam.
They may lose their swings, they may suffer injuries, they may lose practically everything as willett did. But, if ever the precious chance comes along again, they never forget how to win.
It might have been 953 days since willett shook the world to win the Masters, but he drew on those memories to shake it once again.
‘How you will react when the pressure is on is the one thing you can’t teach but, if I’m feeling confident in my game, I’ve always been fortunate enough to cope when the hands shake and the putts become slippery,’ willett said.
‘I did think about Augusta a out there and, while 953 days s is a long time, I remembered how it felt.’
willett shot a four-under final round of 68 to finish on 18 under par, two shots ahead of fellow Englishman Matt wallace and Reed.
After holing the winning putt, willett held out his arms as young son Zachariah ran on to the 18th green. In April 2016, willett had been present at Zach’s birth and then flew out and won the Masters 12 days later.
Alongside wife Nicole and the arrival of sibling Noah, Zach might have been the only thing that kept willett sane in the near three years since, as he fell victim to the perfect storm of the price of fame and a desperate series of injuries. It felt so fitting that by his side yesterday at the completion of his return to victory was the current holder of the green jacket.
while Reed was establishing his reputation as a formidable matchplay exponent at the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine, willett was hounded mercilessly by the crowd and ended up pointless.
So began almost two years of inexorable decline, or what willett summed up as his very own version of Groundhog Day: ‘Turn up at a tournament in pain, miss the halfway cut — and repeat. ‘I despised golf for a while.’ over the summer, willett slowly pieced things together. A top-10 finish here and there, followed by a chance to win in Turkey a fortnight ago.
But what faced him yesterday was an entirely different ball game. Not only Reed, but also in contention was Londoner wallace and the Ryder Cup quartet of Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson and Rory McIlroy. It was willett who stamped his imprint over the front nine to establish a threeshot lead and it was willett who wobbled coming home, with bogeys at the 10th and 12th, before gathering himself.
willett and Reed pulled away with birdies at the 14th and 15th. At the 16th, Reed had a birdie putt to tie from just six foot, but missed. How costly that proved at the par-three 17th, where willett struck the shot of the week to six feet of the hole. with Reed missing from 12 feet for par, willett rolled in his birdie putt for a three-stroke lead. It was like the par-three 16th at Augusta in 2016, a hole willett also birdied while challenger Lee westwood three-putted.
There was still a moment of drama. At the teasing 18th, willett’s tee shot stopped short of the water hazard with its last breath. No one would deny him that moment of fortune, surely? or the lovely scenes that followed, as he completed his success with the 18th green bathed in a celestial light.
Alongside him at the prize presentation was Frankie Molinari, who enjoyed a rather more comfortable final-round coronation to pick up the other big trophy on offer, as the overall winner of the Race to Dubai, for the No 1 player on the European Tour this year.
willett is the ninth different English winner on the European Tour since Molinari picked up the open in July: Richard McEvoy, Paul waring, Matt wallace, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tom Lewis, Eddie Pepperell, Justin Rose, Lee westwood and now willett.
what a blessed four months it has been. As for willett, he couldn’t help but cast his mind forward another four months to Augusta. ‘I’m looking forward to finally going back there with a golf game that can cope,’ he said, smiling.