Speaking after his win, Willett admitted it was a whirlwind few days.
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Willett became only the second Englishman to win the Masters, after Sir Nick Faldo, following a dramatic final round at Augusta National which saw Jordan Spieth suffer a stunning collapse. His wife was due with their first child on the weekend of the Masters.
Captain Steve Mulligan said the 28-year-old’s talent was obvious from a young age.
Mulligan added a number of members at the club “invested wisely” in a Willett win who was listed with many bookies at 66/1 before the tournament started.
“To finish a good round, give yourself an opportunity to win and when the other fellow doesn’t finish, you’ve got to be there. What an fantastic couple of weeks for him”.
But it’s likely that Sir Alex Ferguson was also left feeling rather despondent after Spieth’s horror on the back nine, after it emerged that the former Manchester United manager had bet the considerable sum of £8000 ($16,590) on Spieth to win the tournament. “I hope I never experience it again”.
While Spieth finished with a one-over par 73, Willett produced a sublime round of 67 to equal the best round of the day. I missed one this year. It’s what you practice for and it’s what you play for.
Willett’s preparation had understandably been dominated by the birth of his son and he even contemplated only travelling to Augusta on Tuesday, despite having only played on the notoriously hard course once before.
Suffice it say he had battled some tough conditions all week to build a five-stroke lead with nine holes to play. “I feel like I’ve got control of my game”. From the drop zone, he hit a wedge so fat that he turned his head and removed his cap, not wanting to look.
Many insiders firmly believe that Spieth, who is wise beyond his years as a golfer, will be able to overcome the mental and emotional scarring of Sunday’s meltdown.
“But, listen, I had my B-minus game tee to green and I made up for it around the greens with my putter”.
“It’s just insane, just surreal. You know, words can’t really describe the things and the emotions. You’re so much involved in what you’re doing when you’re on the golf course and, like you said, you do something special, and it still doesn’t sink in quite what you’ve achieved”.
Bogies on the 10th and 11th, and a quadruple bogey on the 12th did him in. Meanwhile, Dustin Johnson followed up a double-bogey on the 5 with five birdies to climb in to a contention but another double-bogey on the 17 kept him from challenging Willett for the victory.
“I played great golf”.
“What happened to Jordan it was so sudden, just bam”. That’s the thing that I take away not just from this week, but from previous Masters. Then, he put two in the water on the par-3 12th.
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Talk about awkward. Spieth actually had to give Willett his jacket twice – once in Butler Cabin, once in front of the public.
