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Danny Willett living the Masters dream

By: Golf Shake | Tue 07 Apr 2015


Post by Sports Writer, Derek Clements


IT HAS taken a while but, finally, Danny Willett is living the dream - and how. The 27-year-old Yorkshire has certainly served his apprenticeship and if anybody deserves to be in the field at Augusta making his Masters debut then he does.

He has actually played Augusta many, many times. How? On a simulator at Doncaster Golf Range. Having now been there and played it for real before heading to Texas and the Shell Houston Open, he would be the first to admit that it surpassed his expectations. “Gym time before typing magnolia lane into the sat nav!!! Boom!!” he tweeted. Later he added: “Well that first experience at Augusta can only be described as awesome!!”

Willett insists that he is not here just to make up the numbers. Fuzzy Zoeller is the last debutant to slip on the Green Jacket, way back in 1979, and the Englishman sees no reason why he can't emulate Zoeller. His first experience of golf in America came at the WGC-Cadillac championship played at the Blue Monster at Doral, another course he had played on the simulator.

Willett finished 12th at Doral and insists that he has no fears about playing in The Masters. “I’ve always said if you’re not going to go to an event and be fully prepared to try to win, there is no point going,” Willett said. “You don’t pitch up to try to finish 15th, 30th or just try to make the cut; you try to go and win, regardless of the field or whatever. If you can’t do that I don’t know what your own long-term goal is. I have my own idea of where I want to be and it’s not finishing mid-pack.”

He got to Augusta largely on the back of his victory in the Nedbank Challenge at Sun City, which allowed him to deposit more than $1m into his bank account and take him to the top of the Race to Dubai. It was a victory against a world-class field, and it has done wonders for his confidence, his bank balance and his world ranking.
 
Willett knows Rory McIlroy, having played with and against him when they were both amaterus. They met in the first round of the Amateur championship eight years ago. Willett was five up after six holes before eventually beating the Northern Irishman on the 17th. The same year they played together in the Walker Cup against a US team that included  Rickie Fowler, Billy Horschel, Dustin Johnson and Webb Simpson.

“That was a long time ago now, both of our games have changed since then so hopefully we can be on the same team in Ryder Cups and I can beat him a few more times,” Willett said. “I was the last person to beat him as an amateur before he turned pro. He’s a very difficult person to beat right now on a golf course. It’s pretty phenomenal golf he’s playing.
“If you finish one place in front of Rory in most events you’re going to do all right. He’s going to be the man to beat around Augusta. If he doesn’t win it this year I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before he does.”

Willett can't wait to get on the first tee at Augusta for real and knows his Masters debut will be something he will never forget. “The first one is always special. I remember the first Open that I played and there is a different feel about majors. The Masters is going to feel more different still.

“Obviously the Open is close to your heart as your home major but The Masters always has that air of being just a little bit special. I’m going to try and treat it as a normal week in terms of I’m going there to try and compete with all the guys I have played against for the past six years, try not to make it too much of an ordeal but at the same time appreciate what you’ve achieved to get there and actually enjoy it.”

Willett and his friends and family are renting a couple of houses in Augusta, while his wife Nicole will be carrying his bag in the par-three contest on Wednesday. Before then, he will be talking to Lee Westwood and trying to pick up some tips about how best to play the course.

Willett has fond memories of his victory in South Africa, when he shot rounds of 65 and 66 at the weekend to beat Luke Donald. “That win let me know that regardless of where I am, I can now draw on the experience of really being under pressure and being able to hit a specific golf shot when I need to. That week I stood up and did it almost every time,” said Willett.

“I played fantastic, especially on Sunday. We played very aggressive like we did all week, didn’t change the game plan and kept smashing it with driver off the tee to get shorter irons in and that made it difficult when we got in front for people to catch us.” It is interesting to note that, like so many of his rivals, Willett talks of "we" to include his caddie. But he is the man who hits the shots, he is the man who is leading the Race to Dubai and he is the man who believes he can perform a miracle at Augusta.


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