Danny Willett powers into Masters contention in bid for his second green jacket with Tommy Fleetwood also in mix
DANNY WILLETT showed his unlikely 2016 Masters triumph does not have to be a one-off as he stormed into contention with a brilliant second round 66 at Augusta. And Tommy Fleetwood matched that score to join Willett on seven under par at halfway, just two shots behind the early pace setters. The English flag has […]
DANNY WILLETT showed his unlikely 2016 Masters triumph does not have to be a one-off as he stormed into contention with a brilliant second round 66 at Augusta.
And Tommy Fleetwood matched that score to join Willett on seven under par at halfway, just two shots behind the early pace setters.
The English flag has been flying high over Augusta, with Paul Casey grabbing a share of the first-round lead with a seven under par 65, and Lee Westwood and Justin Rose also opening with scores in the sixties.
But Willett’s re-emergence as a real force at the course where he recorded his career highlight following Jordan Spieth’s incredible back nine meltdown came right out of the blue.
He had missed the cut here in all three starts since his three shot victory four years ago, although recent high profile European Tour victories at Wentworth and in Dubai showed he can still mix it with the best.
Willett, 33, commented: “We have been doing some nice work, and things felt pretty good coming into the week. You get nice memories and nice vibes about the place.
“It is playing very different to what we know it can play like. It has been a good week so far.
“The driver cracked on 17 when we were finishing up the first round, which is a shame so we played the second round with just three wood.
“It might just stay that way for the rest of the week! We are in a nice position, we laughed it has been four years since I saw my name on that leaderboard.
“It is four years on from my win here, but it still gives you tingles. We were laughing in there the other day that me, Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth were the only guys under 40 at the Champions Dinner.
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“I am a good bit older than those two as well. But look, being part of all that is still surreal, and this is just an amazing place to come to.”
Like Willett, Fleetwood had to complete his second round before heading straight back out. He said: “It was a pretty long day, and early on it was a bit of a survival act early on.
“But on the back nine, I felt I had a chance on every hole, and it was nice to get one final birdie on the last.”