Daniel John Willett (born 3 October 1987) is an English

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who plays on the European Tour. In April 2016, he won his first major championship at the

2016 Masters Tournament The 2016 Masters Tournament was the 80th edition of the Masters Tournament, held April 7–10 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Danny Willett won his first major championship, three strokes ahead of runners-up Lee Westwood an ...

, becoming only the second Englishman to achieve the feat and the first European in 17 years to win at Augusta National.

Early life

Willett was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, one of four brothers. His father, Steve, was a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

vicar and his mother,

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

-born Elisabet, was a maths teacher. Willett used to practise his golf in a sheep pasture; interviewed by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' in 2016 he said, "We used to go to

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

to play a par three course in the middle of a sheep field." He was a member of

Birley Wood Golf Club Birley ward — which includes the districts of Base Green, Birley Estate, Charnock, Frecheville, Scowerdons and part of Hackenthorpe — is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the southeastern part ...

in his youth.

Amateur career

As an amateur and member of Rotherham Golf Club (RGC), he won the English Amateur Championship in 2007 and competed in the

2007 Walker Cup The 41st Walker Cup Match was played on 8 and 9 September 2007 at the Royal County Down Golf Club in Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland. Team United States won 12½ to 11½. The United States won by the same score in 2005. Format The forma ...

Royal County Down Royal County Down Golf Club is a golf club in Northern Ireland, located in Newcastle, County Down. It opened on 23 March 1889 and is one of the oldest golf clubs in Ireland. It has two 18-hole links courses, the Championship Course and the Ann ...

In acknowledgement of his achievements he was given life membership of RGC by the then Captain Michael E Stubley and fellow Directors of RGC. In March 2008 he became the number one ranked amateur in the world. Willett secured a golf scholarship at

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's degree, bachelor's, master's degree, master's, educati ...

(JSU) in Alabama. During his time with JSU, he was the 2006 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and won medallist honours 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

2008–15

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 eight 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 euros. Following this performance, Willett moved into the top 100 of the

Official World Golf Ranking The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

for the first time. He finished the 2010 season ranked 23rd on the Order of Merit. 2011 proved to be a less successful season, with only one top ten placement in 30 competitions; he still managed to retain his tour membership comfortably with a final 91st place in the Order of Merit. Willett's first victory on the European Tour came in June 2012 at the BMW International Open in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. He defeated Marcus Fraser on the fourth extra hole of a sudden death play-off. In the same season he collected a second place at the

Omega European Masters The Omega European Masters is the Swiss stop on professional men's golf's European Tour, and in 2009 it became the first event in Europe to be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour. Founded as the Swiss Open in 1923, the tournament was prefixed with Eu ...

, a third place at the

Maybank Malaysian Open The Malaysian Open is a men's professional golf tournament currently played on the Asian Tour. Notable past winners include world number one golfers Vijay Singh and Lee Westwood (both players winning the event on two occasions). Other notable ...

and three additional top-ten finishes, that gave him the 23rd position at the final Order of Merit. In 2013 and 2014 Willett established himself as one of the leading European players in the European Tour and in 2015 alone he collected seven top-ten finishes, and ended the year in 25th place in The Race to Dubai. In December 2014 Willett won the Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City, South Africa and, with a third place at the

2015 WGC-Cadillac Match Play The 2015 WGC-Cadillac Match Play was the 17th WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship, played April 29 – May 3 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California. It was the second of four World Golf Championships in 2015. Top-ranked Rory McIlroy ...

in May 2015, he earned a special temporary membership on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

for the remainder of the 2015 season. Through 36 holes at the

2015 Open Championship The 2015 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 144th Open Championship, held from 16 to 20 July at the Old Course at St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. It was the 29th Open Championship played at the course and Zach Johnson ...

, Willett was one stroke off the lead of

Dustin Johnson Dustin Hunter Johnson (born June 22, 1984) is an American professional golfer. He has won two major championships, the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club with a 4-under-par score of 276 and the 2020 Masters Tournament with a record score ...

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 tie for sixth at the Old Course at St Andrews, his best finish in a major to that point. In July 2015, Willett won his third European Tour title with a one-stroke victory over

Matt Fitzpatrick Matthew Thomas Fitzpatrick (born 1 September 1994) is an English professional golfer. After winning the 2013 U.S. Amateur, he later won his first professional tournament at the 2015 British Masters. In 2022 he won his first major championship a ...

at the

. Though he earned enough to qualify for a PGA Tour card, Willett declined to take PGA Tour membership for the 2015–16 season.

2016: Masters victory

Willett won his first major championship at the

at Augusta National after shooting a five-under-par round of 67 to take advantage of a collapse by Jordan Spieth. Defending champion Spieth led by five shots as he approached the 10th hole of the final round. Willett took the lead when Spieth, who was leading by 1 shot from Willett, had a quadruple bogey 7 at the par-3 12th. Willett was the leader in the clubhouse at −5 when he posted a bogey-free final round of 67 and was crowned champion when Spieth finished at −2 alongside

Lee Westwood Lee John Westwood (born 24 April 1973) is an English professional golfer. Noted for his consistency, Westwood is one of the few golfers who has won tournaments on five continents – Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Oceania – including ...

. Willett became the first British player to win the Masters for 20 years,

Nick Faldo Sir Nicholas Alexander Faldo, (born 18 July 1957) is an English retired professional golfer and television commentator. A top player of his era, renowned for his dedication to the game, he was ranked No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking for ...

having won in 1996. After being presented with the green jacket as champion, Willett said: "It was a very surreal day when you look back at the ebbs and flows." After his win, Willett accepted PGA Tour membership and rose to the 9th place of the

. Beside the first major win at the Masters, 2016 proved to be the most successful season for Willett. He collected his fourth win on the European Tour in February at the Dubai Desert Classic, and had a 2nd place at the 2016

Italian Open Italian Open may refer to: *Italian Open (tennis), a Masters 1000 level tennis tournament played in Rome each year. *Italian Open (golf) The DS Automobiles Italian Open ( it, Open d'Italia) is the men's national open golf championship of Italy. It ...

and a 3rd place at the BMW PGA Championship, establishing himself early in the season as leader of the Race to Dubai. With his position he also earned the automatic selection for the

2016 Ryder Cup The 41st Ryder Cup Matches were held in the United States from September 30 to October 2, 2016, at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, a suburb southwest of Minneapolis. Europe entered the competition as the cup holders, havin ...

. Willett's Ryder Cup debut started with a controversy stirred by his brother Peter Willett in a '' National Club Golfer'' article in which he stated that "for the Americans to stand a chance of winning, they need their baying mob of imbeciles to caress their egos every step of the way"; Danny Willett successively distanced himself and apologised for his brother's comments, although he later defended his brother's comments as correct after the competition had completed. In the event, he played three matches without earning a point. In the Friday afternoon fourballs he teamed up with

Martin Kaymer Martin Kaymer ( ; born 28 December 1984) is a German professional golfer. A winner of two major championships, he was also the No. 1 ranked golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking for eight weeks in 2011. Kaymer achieved his first major vict ...

, losing by 5 and 4 to Brandt Snedeker and Brooks Koepka, on Saturday, he paired with

against

J. B. Holmes John Bradley "J.B." Holmes (born April 26, 1982) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Early life Holmes, born in Campbellsville, Kentucky, began to play on the varsity golf team at Taylor County High School in Campbel ...

and Ryan Moore in a 1 up loss in the fourballs; in the Sunday singles he lost again, by 5 and 4, to Koepka.

2017

Seeking his first victory since his Masters win, Willett entered the final round of the 2017

Maybank Championship The Maybank Championship was a professional golf tournament, co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the European Tour, that was played annually in Malaysia. The tournament was founded in 2016 by sponsors Maybank, who had previously sponsored the Ma ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, with a three-stroke advantage over the field. In the final round, he was the only player in top 29 positions to shoot over par and finished in a tie for fifth, four strokes behind eventual winner, Fabrizio Zanotti. In defence of his Masters title, Willett shot opening rounds of 73 and 78 for a total of seven-over-par. He missed the cut by one stroke, becoming the first defending champion to do so since Mike Weir in 2004. Willett struggled with a back injury throughout the season, withdrawing from three tournaments, and ultimately lost his PGA Tour privileges having failed to make the required fifteen starts.

2018

Willett began the 2018 season with nine missed cuts and a withdrawal in his first twelve tournaments. After the 2018 BMW PGA Championship, Willett fell to 462nd in the

. However, his play improved in the second half of the season. This culminated in a victory at the 2018

DP World Tour Championship, Dubai The DP World Tour Championship is a golf tournament on the European Tour and is the climax of the DP World Tour Rankings. It is contested on the Greg Norman-designed Earth course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The t ...

on 18 November 2018. The victory was part of the

Rolex Series The Rolex Series is a series of men's professional golf tournaments played internationally, as part of the European Tour. History The series was unveiled for the 2017 European Tour, 2017 season and began with eight events, all with elevated purse ...

and worth $1,333,330.

2019

On 22 September, Willett won the BMW PGA Championship at

Wentworth Golf Club Wentworth Club is a privately owned golf club and country club in Virginia Water, Surrey, on the south western fringes of London, not far from Windsor Castle. The club was founded in 1922. Beijing-based Reignwood Group bought the club in Septe ...

in England. This win at the European Tour's flagship event brought Willett back into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

2020

In the

2019–20 PGA Tour The 2019–20 PGA Tour was the 105th season (53rd since separating from the PGA of America) of the United States-based elite men's professional golf circuit. The season started on September 12, 2019. The 2020 FedEx Cup Playoffs began on August 2 ...

season, shortened due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Willett recorded one top-10 with a tied-fourth finish at the

Rocket Mortgage Classic The Rocket Mortgage Classic is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It was first staged in 2019 at Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Michigan. The tournament replaced the Quicken Loans National on the PGA Tour schedule. It is the first PGA ...

2021

In March, Willett recorded a top-10 at the

Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship The Corales Puntacana Championship is a golf tournament in the Dominican Republic on the PGA Tour, formerly on the Web.com Tour. It was first played in 2016 at the Puntacana Resort and Club, on the east coast in the province. After two years a ...

. Later in May, he hosted the Betfred British Masters at The Belfry, which was won by Richard Bland. In October, he won the

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is one of the richest golf tournaments on the European Tour. It is played in September, on three different links courses, centred on the "home of golf", St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The tournament is a pr ...

by two shots ahead of Tyrrell Hatton and

Joakim Lagergren Joakim Kevin Lagergren (born 15 November 1991) is a Swedish professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour having previously played on the Challenge Tour. Professional career Lagergren turned professional in 2010 and initially playe ...

2022

In September, Willett started the

2022–23 PGA Tour The 2022–23 PGA Tour is the 108th season of the PGA Tour, and the 56th since separating from the PGA of America. The season began on September 15, 2022. The 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs will begin on August 10, and conclude on August 27, 2023. It i ...

season at the

Fortinet Championship The Fortinet Championship, previously the Safeway Open, is a professional golf tournament, part of the PGA Tour. Originally sponsored by Fry's Electronics, it was first staged in 2007 as the Fry's Electronics Open at Grayhawk Golf Club's Raptor C ...

. Holding a one shot lead on the final hole, Willett three-putted the final green for bogey, while Max Homa chipped in for birdie, ultimately giving Homa the title.

Personal life

Willett married Nicole Harris in 2013. They reside in

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

, Yorkshire. Their first child, a son, was born in 2016, just a few days before his victory at the 2016 Masters. Their second child was born in 2018. Willett has described his father, Steve, as the best

sports psychologist Sport psychology was defined by the European Federation of Sport in 1996, as the study of the psychological basis, processes, and effects of sport. Otherwise, sport is considered as any physical activity where the individuals engage for competi ...

he has known. Willett is a supporter of

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. Willett is a member of

Lindrick Golf Club Lindrick Golf Club is a golf course in South Yorkshire and is also a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). The SSSI covers and was designated for its biological interest. The site was notified in 1987. The course is situated on the ...

Amateur wins

*2007 Yorkshire Amateur, English Amateur *2008 Australian Amateur Stroke Play Championship,

Spanish International Amateur Championship The Spanish International Amateur Championship (Copa S.M. el Rey) is an annual amateur golf tournament in Spain for men. Prior to 2020 it was an "A" rated tournament in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. (The calculation of the ranking changed in 202 ...

Professional wins (8)

PGA Tour wins (1)

European Tour wins (8)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

Sunshine Tour The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the South African Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the Vod ...

²Co-sanctioned by the

Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on the tour count for Wor ...

* The

and BMW PGA Championship are also Rolex Series tournaments. European Tour playoff record (1–0)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (2015 Open Championship – 2016 PGA) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)

Results in The Players Championship

WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the halfway cut

Results in World Golf Championships

''Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.'' ¹Cancelled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = No tournament
"T" = tied

Team appearances

Amateur *

Jacques Léglise Trophy The Jacques Léglise Trophy is an annual amateur boys' team golf competition between Great Britain & Ireland and the Continent of Europe. It was first played in 1977, as a one-day match before the Boys Amateur Championship, but since 1996 it has b ...

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2005 * Walker Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland):

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Bonallack Trophy The Bonallack Trophy is an amateur golf competition on the model of the Ryder Cup which opposes every two years a European team and a team representing Asia/Pacific. The venue alternates between courses in Europe and Asia/Pacific. The first compe ...

(representing Europe): 2008 (winners) Professional * World Cup (representing England):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

EurAsia Cup The EurAsia Cup was a biennial men's professional team golf tournament between teams representing Europe and Asia. It started in 2014, superseding the Royal Trophy which had been played from 2006 to 2013. It was previously held at the Glenmarie ...

(representing Europe):

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

(winners) *

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

(representing Europe) :

Ryder Cup points record

References

External links

* * * *
Danny Willett's Junior Championship at Bondhay Golf Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willett, Danny English male golfers Jacksonville State Gamecocks men's golfers European Tour golfers PGA Tour golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Ryder Cup competitors for Europe Olympic golfers of Great Britain Golfers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Sheffield 1987 births Living people