Danny Willett Withdraws From Dubai Desert Classic As Injury Curse Strikes Again

Danny Willett has had some rotten luck with injuries in recent years and another one forced him out of the Dubai Desert Classic on Friday

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Danny Willett takes a shot at The Masters
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Former Masters champion Danny Willett had to withdraw from the Dubai Desert Classic after being hit with yet another injury blow.

The 2016 Green Jacket winner has had a torrid time with injuries over the last few years, most notably shoulder surgery in 2023 that kept him out of the game for seven months.

The 38-year-old shot a four-over 76 in the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic, but was unable to tee off in round two on Friday.

It's unclear how he picked up the "massively frustrating" fresh injury, but he hopes to "get this sorted and back out there soon" as he said in a social media post.

Before having shoulder surgery, Willett also struggled with back problems in recent times and the culmination of all these fitness issues has been a big dip in form.

He spoke just ahead of the Dubai Desert Classic detailing how tough it had been on the long road back to full recovery, and being finally able to prepapre and then play pain free.

"The last few years have been a roller coaster," Willett said on the DP World Tour website ahead of this week's event. "When I’ve played well, I’ve won. But then there is a hell of a lot of missed cuts there."

Willett has missed 20 cuts from the 37 events he's played since returning from surgery, with one top 10 finish just showcasing how tough it's been for him to find his form again.

He's reunited with former coach Mike Walker, who was with him for his Masters triumph during his golden spell of form, and was hoping that would do the trick this year.

"Me and Mike had a lot of success before and we’re just trying to pick up on the good things that we did 2014 through to 2017," Willett said.

"We’re really trying to get a good understanding and get some consistency back."

Unfortunately for Willett the injury curse has struck again before he's really been able to get going this season - but hopefully it's a problem he can recover from quickly without losing too much time.

Paul Higham
Paul Higham
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Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website.  Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush. 

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