An improbable rise, his drastic fall and battle for recovery
SUCH has been the precipitous nature of his fall since winning the Masters, it is only natural that Danny Willett should find himself asking a heretical question: was it worth it?
Two years on from that glorious Sunday at Augusta, the 30-year-old once ensconced in the world’s top 10 will turn up at the BMW Championship at Wentworth this week ranked outside the top 400. Was it worth it? In May 2016, they lined the fairways of the West Course in Surrey several people deep, feeling a sense of pride at welcoming home the first English winner of the Green Jacket in 20 years. Last year, the question was: what the heck’s happened to Danny Willett? This year, it might well be the worst fate of all: people feeling sorry for him as he walks by or not even watching at all. Was it worth it? A pro with a work ethic so strong you had to drag him off the practice range, there were days when he grew so sick of the game he didn’t want to get out of bed. Was it worth it? ‘I’ve asked myself that question a lot during my struggles,’ he says. ‘But the answer is always the same. Of course it was. We don’t play the game to enjoy life on an even keel and finish 20th every week.
‘You enjoy it for those rare Sunday nights at 11pm, when you’ve done your interviews, you’re drained and you’re reflecting on the fact you’ve just accomplished what you set out to achieve when you were small, and feeling something few golfers get to feel.
‘Think about it this way. Even a legend like Seve only got to feel what it’s like to win a major five times. A truly great player like Ian Woosnam only enjoyed the feeling once during his whole career.
‘So, yeah, if it means going through s**t for two years and then wearing a Green Jacket or holding a Claret Jug at the end of it, I’d take that all day long – although, if I knew that was my fate, I’d take the time off and enjoy life with Nic [his wife] and our two kids.’
Given the role a series of untimely injuries have played in Willett’s decline, it seems appropriate that we meet as he’s about to be pummelled this way and that by his physio. His career stalled in his early twenties owing to a chronic back complaint and it is only recently he has broken a three-year cycle of taking painkillers on a daily basis.
Despite it all, he is in surprisingly good spirits. He answers the difficult questions honestly and the only time he hesitates is when the physio starts working on a sore spot, rather than any reluctance to tackle painful ground.
The hardest question of all, of course, concerns whether he will ever be a force again, for there aren’t too many who hit the heights, fall so far, and then rise again. ‘I definitely had lots of worrying moments where I asked myself what happens if I never play well again,’ he says. ‘I’m not sure I’d call it panic but you definitely feel the anxiety. You’re sitting at home thinking, you’ve won a major, you’ve got a fantastic family, the perfect schedule and yet you don’t want to play. You’re wondering: how on earth has it come to this?
‘I feel a lot better about it all now. It’s a horrible feeling seeing the world rankings, but I’m healthier and seeing a clear picture again.’ Part of that wellbeing stems from advice he received from the man who succeeded him as Masters champion and who knows all about the highs and lows of the trade: Sergio Garcia.
‘Let’s face it, there are few people who have any idea what you’re going through, but Sergio is one and he was an enormous help,’ says Willett.
Working with a different coach, Sean Foley, has also rekindled his enthusiasm. ‘It was really difficult splitting with Pete Cowen after he did so much for me, but I felt like I needed a fresh pair of eyes and fresh things to work on,’ he says. ‘It has taken time. But Wentworth is the start of a long summer filled with exciting tournaments and, if I can stay healthy, you’ll see me turn the corner.’ There could be no better place to start than the flagship event of the European Tour, on home soil.