How Danny Willett is overcoming narratives in chase for second Masters title
Bring up the 2016 Masters, and it’ll take about 3.5 seconds to find that oh-so-familiar narrative.
Danny Willett was simply in the right place at the right time, they’ll say. That green jacket really belongs to Jordan Spieth, the American ex-world No. 1 who led each of the first three rounds before blowing a five-shot lead on the final nine holes.
It’s true, Spieth’s quadruple bogey on 12 where he put a pair of balls in the water was a disaster. It’s also true Willett was stupendous on Sunday that year, firing a 5-under, 67 to make up what was a four-shot deficit entering the round.
But whether Spieth should’ve won or that Willett was just lucky to have a Masters title has been litigated enough over the last six years. This week, right now, we need to talk about Willett.
The 2016 Masters champion, yes, champion, is back in the mix at Augusta National and there’s not one caveat to be needed.
“You can’t come to this place and not wake up every morning with a smile on your face — I think it’s impossible,” Willett said after a 3-under 69 on Thursday that had him T3 and two shots off the lead going into Friday. “It’s impossible for the players, and I think it’s impossible for the 25,000 patrons who come and walk round here every day. It’s a pretty special place.”
That Willett was near the top of the leaderboard at the Masters after Round 1 wasn’t just a retort to those who chalk up his 2016 win at Augusta to Spieth-induced disaster, it’s the culmination of a full-on resurgence following a post-green jacket slide for the first Englishman since Nick Faldo to hold the title.
Willett struggled with back problems during the 2017 season, eventually losing his PGA Tour status for failing to play in the required 15 events. The 2018 campaign wasn’t much better, as he missed nine cuts and withdrew from another tournament over his first 12 starts of the year.
In 2016, Willett recorded rounds of 70, 74 and 72 to open the Masters. He was four shots back heading into the final round. A Sunday 67, though, netted him a green jacket.
Like he did throughout his Masters win six years ago, he’s hung around long enough to find a light at the end of the tunnel. After 2018’s mess of a start, he won the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. A victory at the 2019 BMW PGA Championship moved him back into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings.
The 2021 season wasn’t exactly smooth. He pulled out of the Players Championship due to COVID-19. He had a wisdom tooth pulled the Monday after the Masters. Oh, and he had his appendix taken out following the Memorial in June.
Even still, Willett outlasted Tyrell Hatton and Joakim Lagergren by two shots at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October for an 18-under finish, his third win in four years.
“No,” he said Thursday when asked if he had something to prove after all that’s happened since his 2016 win at Augusta. “If you come back to a golf course like this — you’re at the same venue every year and you come back with your game ready, hitting the shots that you know you’re going to need and you’re capable.
“I think that’s why you see quite a few more winners around here often spaced a while apart because the golf course gets longer, but you still remember certain breaks, certain putts that guys who have played it once or twice might not see or might not ordinarily know.”
Thursday, Willett channeled the composure that has seen him earn that trio of victories since 2018. He started his day 1-over through six holes. Then, like he did at the 2016 Masters, he found his groove — ripping off four birdies and zero bogeys over his final 10 holes to finish the first round two-shots back of leader Sungjae Im.
Willett starts his second round at Augusta on Friday at 12:57 p.m. alongside Jason Kokrak — who concluded the first round 2-under — and Talor Gooch (E).
The Masters hasn’t been kind to Willett since he won his only major title. He missed the cut entirely in the subsequent three years and again in the 2021 event. He did shoot a second round 66 in November 2020 to finish T25, but that’s a minor blip in an otherwise forgetful few years here at Augusta National.
Yet, there he is, right in the thick of the action in 2022.
Say what you will about his win six years ago. Willett isn’t taking the bait. He’s two shots off the lead after Round 1 and there’s no caveat that can take away from that.
This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 9:46 AM.
