Danny Willett
| Danny Willett | |
|---|---|
| — Golfer — | |
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Daniel John Willett |
| Born |
3 October 1987 Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 83 kg (183 lb; 13.1 st) |
| Nationality |
 England |
| Residence |
Sheffield, England London, England |
| Career | |
| College | Jacksonville State University |
| Turned professional | 2008 |
| Current tour(s) | European Tour |
| Professional wins | 4 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| European Tour | 4 |
| Asian Tour | 1 |
| Sunshine Tour | 1 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | T38: 2015 |
| U.S. Open | T45: 2014 |
| The Open Championship | T6: 2015 |
| PGA Championship | T30: 2014 |
Daniel John Willett (born 3 October 1987) is an English professional golfer who plays on the European Tour.
Amateur career
Willett was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England and is the son of Maths teacher Elisabet Willett. As an amateur, he won the English Amateur Championship in 2007 and competed in the 2007 Walker Cup at Royal County Down. In March 2008 he became the number one ranked amateur in the world.
Willett also played two seasons for Jacksonville State University in the U.S. During his time with at JSU, he was the 2006 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and won medalist honors at the 2007 OVC Championship. He was a first-team All-OVC performer and a member of the OVC's All-Tournament Team in both seasons.
Professional career
Willett turned professional in May 2008, and earned his European Tour card for the 2009 season coming through qualifying school. Following a successful 2009, finishing 58th in the inaugural Race to Dubai with 8 top-10s, Willett challenged at the 2010 BMW PGA Championship, taking the first round lead before falling off the pace and finishing outright fifth, winning 190,800 euro. Following this performance, Willett moved into the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time. He finished the 2010 season ranked 23rd on the Order of Merit.
Willett won for the first time on the European Tour in June 2012 at the BMW International Open in Cologne. He defeated Marcus Fraser on the fourth extra hole of a sudden death playoff.[1] Willett played a fantastic chip shot from the rough at the back of green, after going long with his approach, to set up a two-foot par putt and when Fraser missed a short four foot putt to bogey the hole, that left Willett with the task of tapping in for his maiden victory.
Willett finished third at the 2015 WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship, earning special temporary membership on the PGA Tour for the remainder of the 2015 season.[2] Through 36 holes at the 2015 Open Championship, Willett was one stroke off the lead of Dustin Johnson and was paired with him in the final group for the third round of the Championship. He only could muster an even-par 72 in the third round, however, and dropped down the leaderboard. A final round 70, moved him into a tied for 6th at the Old Course at St Andrews, his best finish in a major. In July 2015, Willett won his third European Tour title with a one-stroke victory over Matthew Fitzpatrick at the Omega European Masters. Though he earned enough to qualify for a PGA Tour card, Willett declined to take PGA Tour membership for the 2015–16 season.[3]
Amateur wins (4)
- 2007 Yorkshire Amateur, English Amateur
- 2008 Australian Amateur Stroke Play Championship, Spanish Amateur Open Championship
Professional wins (4)
European Tour wins (4)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 Jun 2012 | BMW International Open | –11 (65-70-69-73=277) | Playoff |  Marcus Fraser |
| 2 | 7 Dec 2014 | Nedbank Golf Challenge1 | –18 (71-68-65-66=270) | 4 strokes | Ross Fisher |
| 3 | 26 Jul 2015 | Omega European Masters2 | –17 (65-62-71-65=263) | 1 stroke | Matthew Fitzpatrick |
| 4 | 7 Feb 2016 | Omega Dubai Desert Classic | –19 (70-65-65-69=269) | 1 stroke |  Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Andy Sullivan |
1Co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour
2Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour
European Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2012 | BMW International Open | Marcus Fraser |
Won with par on fourth extra hole |
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T38 |
| U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T45 | CUT |
| The Open Championship | DNP | CUT | DNP | T15 | CUT | T6 |
| PGA Championship | CUT | DNP | DNP | T40 | T30 | T54 |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.
Team appearances
Amateur
- Jacques Léglise Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2005
- Walker Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2007
Professional
- World Cup (representing England): 2013
- EurAsia Cup (representing Europe): 2016 (winners)
See also
References
- ↑ "Danny Willett secures first European Tour victory in Cologne". BBC Sport. 24 June 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
- ↑ Hoggard, Rex (3 May 2015). "Willett earns special temporary status with consolation match win". Golf Channel.
- ↑ Lavner, Ryan (1 October 2015). "Willett turns down 2015-16 PGA Tour card". Golf Channel.
External links
- Official website
- Danny Willett at the European Tour official site
- Danny Willett at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- Danny Willett's Junior Championship at Bondhay Golf Club