AUGUSTA, Ga. — Danny Willett anticipated April 10 would be a special day. Little did he know it would be 🐲more extraordinary than he could imagine.
That was the original due date for his wife, Nicole, and their son, a date that conflicted with the final round of the 80th Masters. Willett wanted to witness the birth more than win a Green Jacket, so he was ready not to compete at Augusta National this weekend. But in what he described as “a ridiculously awesome 12 days,” the Englishman welcomed the birth of Zachariah James Willett𓆉 on March 30 and Sunday he claimed💃 the first major championship of his golf career by rallying from five shots back to win the Masters.
“Words can’t describe how I’m feeling now and words definitely can’t describe how I was feeling last Tuesday when you get to hold something that me and my wife have made,” Willett said, draped in the Green Jacket after shooting a 5-under-par 67 to finish three shots clear of fell♐ow Englishman Lee Westwood and defending champ Jordan Spieth. “It’s just been incredibly surreal🐓.”
Spieth losing six strokes in three holes and shooting 41 on the back nine wi🍸ll be the talk of th🉐is Masters. But make no mistake, Willett won this tournament as much as Spieth lost it. His bogey-free round with five birdies was a perfect illustration of when preparation meets opportunity.
Willett, 28, was among the last players to offici▨ally enter th❀e field, staying in England as long as he could to change diapers, wash dishes, and make sure his wife was feeling well enough, “so that I could come here with a clear mind,” he said.
Playing in his se💖cond Masters, Willett was at even par after three rounds, but began to climb the leaderboard Sunday with birdies at the par-3 6th, the par-5 8th, the par-5 13th and the par-4 14th. By then Spieth was in full free fall, hitting his ball twice into Rae’s Creek at the 12th to plummet from 5-under to 1-under par.
“I was waiting for someone to play a little joke𝓀 and put a [7-under pಞar] back up there,” said Willett. “I feel fortunate I was in the position where I was able to pounce on the opportunity. He obviously had a terrible run at 10, 11, and 12, which put it back in anyone’s hands. Fortunately, I was able to seize the opportunities.”
Willett hit a terrific tee shot at the par-3 16th, where he drained a 5-footer for birdie to jump to 5-under and command a two-sh🥂ot lead over a charging Dustin Johnson. Now it was all about skill matching nerves. A four-time winner on the European Tour, Willett made a nice up-and-down from off the green at 17 to save par.
Dressed 💝in all white, he walked up the 18th to th𝓰e applause of the patrons, who had to be stunned watching Spieth tumble down the leaderboard. Willett would tap in for par and begin a low-key celebration that went into full bloom when Spieth bogeyed the 17th and dropped to 2-under par.
“You practice endless hours chipping, putting, hitting shots, imagining hitting shots at certain golf 🌜courses at times,” Willett said. “Fortunately enough today, I’ve been able to relive some of those dreams and some of those practice sessions.
“It’s still m♔ind boggling that we have been able to come through everything that’s happened and play so well under the pressure that we did on the back nine today and to be able to sit here with a Green Jacket.”
Twenty years ago, another Englishman earned a green jacket when Greg Norman blew a six-shot lead. Nick Faldo also shot 67 that day to wi✅n his third Masters. Faldo has been quick to remind everyone that his round was the low round of the tournament and “nothing was handed to him.”
Nothing was handed to Willett on this Masters Sunday either. T♚he new dad was simply good enough to take it.