Rejuvenated Willett relishing Masters return

Former champion Danny Willett is relishing his next appearance in the Masters after emphatically proving he has rediscovered a game good enough to cope with the demands of Augusta National.

Willett was ranked ninth in the world after winning his maiden major title in April 2016, but had slumped outside the world’s top 450 earlier this season after struggling with injuries and a subsequent loss of form.

However, the 31-year-old from Sheffield is back inside the world’s top 100 following his emotional victory in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, where he carded a final round of 68 to finish two shots ahead of fellow Englishman Matt Wallace and current Masters champion Patrick Reed.

Willett’s decline had already started by the time he became the first defending champion to miss the cut in the Masters since 2004.

Earlier this year he also made an early exit after rounds of 75 and 76, but will make the trip to Georgia in April in confident mood after a well-earned rest with his family.

“It’s going to be nice to get back home and lock the door, do nothing and look forward at where we want to play and what we want to play in,” Willett told Press Association Sport.

“And if we keep doing the work that we’ve been doing at home and keep putting the hours in, hopefully we can come back in January and pick up where we left off from.

“We’re fortunate that we’re in all the majors for the next few years, so you can plan around them.

“I’m going to look forward to getting back to Augusta in April actually with a golf game that can get around the golf course.”

Willett’s win in Dubai also saw him finish 20th in the Race to Dubai by less than 4,000 points from Ryder Cup team-mate Rafa Cabrera Bello.

Danny Willett.