It was with great pleasure on Sunday night that everyone here at Nailcote Hall watched England’s Danny Willett claw back a five shot deficit to win the Masters by three strokes. Having welcomed the Rotherham pro to the 2011 British Par 3 Championship, we’ve always been aware he’s a special talent, so it was delightful to see him overcome Jordan Spieth, one of golf’s brightest young stars, in a thrilling day’s play.
The 22 year old winner of last year’s green jacket held a five shot advantage at the tenth and, having led the field since Thursday, looked nailed on to repeat his 2015 heroics. But the young American dropped six shots in three holes, including a catastrophic quadruple bogey at the 12th, and opened the door for Willett and Lee Westwood who eventually shared second with the prodigious World No.2.
Danny, finding himself catapulted to the top of the leader board, held his nerve to record the joint lowest round of the day and one of only two that were bogey-free. The 28 year old from Rotherham is now the first Briton to win at the Augusta National Golf Club since Nick Faldo won his third and final Masters title in 1996 and the first European since Jose Maria Olazabal back in 1999.
He has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the last two years, moving into and through the Top 100 with four European Tour victories and a great level of consistency, and now enters the Top 10 as ninth in the world. As tradition dictates, last year’s victor presents the famous green jacket to the winner, leaving Spieth with the unenviable task of handing it over to the man who had reeled him in.
We would like to take this opportunity to express our warmest congratulations to Danny Willett on his first major victory. The character he showed at Augusta, in keeping his head as the young Texan Spieth capitulated, tells us it won’t be his last.
The 2016 Farmfoods British Par 3 Championship takes place at Nailcote Hall between 26th and 29th July. To register for free tickets, please visit http://britishpar3.com/booking/event-ticket/2016 and complete the online form.
