Willett asks wife Nicole to caddy for him on debut round at Belfry
FORMER Masters champion Danny Willett could enjoy two brand new experiences when he makes his European Tour return in the ISPS Handa UK Championship at The Belfry.
Willett’s wife Nicole will make her caddying debut on Thursday as her husband gets a first competitive taste of a venue which has staged four Ryder Cups and last hosted the British Masters in 2008, the year Willett turned professional.
Asked what prompted the decision to give regular caddie Sam Haywood a week off, Sheffield’s Willett said: “Sam’s worked a lot and has been away from his friends and family a lot.
“He has done six- week stints in the USA with isolating both sides.
“This week is one where I said, my wife and I haven’t had more
than two hours alone in seven months – we’ve had the kids on our own ( in America) since January – so I said we’ll use this to have a bit of time together on our own.
“With everything being pretty strict over here with the bubble I thought it would be a good decision to have her.
“She has never caddied for me before.
“We played golf together in the States and a couple of times back here. She’s a bit nervous, she doesn’t want to get anything wrong.
“Luckily we’ve got a nice draw with Bernd ( Wiesberger) and Laney ( caddie Jamie Lane), who’s a good pal of ours, and ( Matt) Wallace.
“So hopefully they’ll be raking bunkers for me and making sure she’s looked after,” said the Yorkshireman, who won the Masters in 2016
Willett’s only experience of The Belfry before this week was as a teenage spectator during the practice rounds for the 2002 Ryder Cup.