Who is Danny Willett? Well, for one, he’s the 2016 Masters champion. But other than that, the average golf fan likely has no clue where he came from to claim the green jacket away from such stars as Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and others.
After Willet posted his five-under par score of 67 to head into the clubhouse as the leader, he had the unenviable task of waiting for the pre-round leaders to finish up their rounds.
Walking off the 72nd hole at the Masters with the lead.
A dream feeling. pic.twitter.com/8YHGoQmkpT
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 10, 2016
Willett was the English Amateur champion back in 2007 and at one point the next year was the top-ranked amateur in the world. He played two years of college golf in America at Jacksonville State University, so he’s not completely unknown in the states.
That said, he was still not considered by any of the experts to be a huge threat to content — let alone win — the 2016 Masters.
Willett wasn’t even in the national conversation Saturday night after the conclusion of the third round at Augusta. Entering Sunday’s final round, he was at even par, only five shots back, but given his lack of big-name recognition and nary a single win on the PGA Tour, he wasn’t considered a threat to the leaders.
Heading into the 2016 Masters, Willett had won just four professional events — all of which occurred on the European Tour.
His greatest achievement in a major tournament had previously been his tie for sixth place during last year’s Britich Open. Otherwise, his career in the four majors was unremarkable.
During Sunday’s round at Augusta, without any of the media looking his way, Willett got off to a rather boring start. Opening his fourth round with five straight pars, he finally got into red numbers with a birdie on No. 6. After a birdie on No. 8, he was two-under par for his round and the tournament — still well under the radar with Spieth charging hard.
However, three birdies in four holes between No. 13-16, combined with Spieth losing four shots on No. 12, thrust this Englishman into the spotlight.
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 10, 2016
Suddenly, Willett was leading the tournament, and his nerves somehow held through the final two holes.
As he posted a five-under to head into the clubhouse as the leader, Spieth was lurking four holes behind, just three shots back. Shortly thereafter he made an impressive birdie at No. 15 to get to within just two strokes with three left to play.
Suddenly, the entire tournament rested on Willett’s shoulders, but all he could do was wait. Understandably, he was a bit nervous but knew he had given himself a tremendous chance to win the Masters.
“Well, it’s awesome. We played great golf today, and it’s been a fantastic week” Willett said during his post-round interview on CBS. “…We’ve done our part. We said we were going to try and shoot a good score and put a little bit of pressure on and, luckily, you know, we’ve done that. We got to five. I had in my head six, so, yeah, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
In the end, neither Spieth, nor anyone else could catch up to the unassuming Willett, who charged from obscurity to the top of the leaderboard in four short days to become the 2016 Masters champion.
https://twitter.com/CauldronICYMI/status/719299431602987010
It’s not a big club, and his name will forever be linked with the greatest names in the history of golf, from Bobby Jones to Jack Nicklaus to Tiger Woods to Spieth.
His life will never be the same, and we’re sure he wouldn’t have it any other way.