10 Things You Didn’t Know About Danny Willett

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Danny Willett

1. Danny Willett’s father is a vicar and his mother is a maths teacher at a comprehensive school in Barnsley. In spite of that, Willett left school at the age of 16. His mother Elisabet is Swedish-born which explains why Willett has an English and Swedish flag on his bag.

2. Willett attended Jacksonville State University in Alabama after becoming one of England Golf’s top prospects

3. He has three brothers – one younger and two elder. His two elder brothers introduced him to the game of golf.

4. He reached the top of the World Amateur Golf Rankings in 2008. That year, while still an amateur, he appeared on the front cover of Golf Monthly magazine.

5. He was coached by former Golf Monthly Top 25 Coach Graham Walker and Pete Cowen but moved to Sean Foley after losing his game post-Masters win.

6. His son Zachariah was born on the 29th March but his original due date was the 10th April. The 10th April also happens to be his wife, Nicole’s, birthday. The pair have another son called Noah.

7. Willett has won eight times on the DP World Tour. His other victories came at the 2012 BMW International Open, the 2014 Nedbank Golf Challenge, the 2015 Omega European Masters, 2016 Masters, the 2016 Dubai Desert Classic and the 2018 DP World Tour Championship.

8. Willett moved up to a career-high 9th in the Official World Golf Ranking with his victory at the 2016 Masters. He was ranked outside the top 100 just 12 months before.

9. His best previous major finish was T6th in the 2015 Open at St. Andrews. He also had a tied 6th at the 2019 Open at Royal Portrush.

10. Willett was a member of the 2007 Walker Cup side which included Rory McIlroy at Royal County Down. The USA won the match with a team including the likes of Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel.