Danny Willett wasn’t even going to come to Augusta National if new son Zac had been born on his due date, which was Sunday, the same day his daddy won the Masters. (Danny Willett Shocks Jordan Spieth, Wins Augusta Masters)
Instead, wife Nicole gave birth to Zac on March 30, the 28-year-old Englishman flew to the year’s first major last Monday and departed with a green jacket after a final-round meltdown by defending champion Jordan Spieth handed him a shocking victory.
“It has just been the most ridiculously awesome 12 days,” Willett said. “Words can’t describe what I’m feeling right now.”
Willett fired a five-under par 67 without a bogey to finish on five-under 283, three shots ahead of Spieth and England’s Lee Westwood.
But if Zac hadn’t done his thing, Danny wouldn’t have even been there, so it’s no wonder the baby is going to get his time in the green jacket.
“They said try to bring the green jacket home for the little one. I don’t think he’ll fit into it right now but he will grow into it,” Willett said.
“It’s mental. Little man was due today. Obviously coming 12 days early, he listened to his dad. Fate, one thing or the other.”
Two life-changing events proved impossible to rank in any order.
“It has been crazy,” Willett said. “I’m not quite sure which is better, this day or (Zac’s birth day) Tuesday. They are very, very, very close there. I don’t know which one I should say to be politically correct.”
He phoned home to share the winning moments with his wife. “She said, ‘Well done.’ The line was a bit crackly. I’ve got massive thanks for everything she does for me. Take this little green jacket back for her.”
In his joyous moment, Willett’s heart went out to Spieth, whose bid for a wire-to-wire repeat win, never seen in any major, fell nine holes short with a quadruple bogey at the par-3 12th.
“You can empathize. He played great all week,” Willett said. “What happened was just a bad beat. Them things happen.”
Even when Willett took the lead, he said he could not believe the manual scoreboard number hanger was not teasing him.
“I was thinking it was a little joke,” he said. “I was waiting for someone to put a 7(-under) back up there.”
Spieth had to present Willett with his green jacket in a ceremony after the finish.
“He just said, ‘Really well played,'” said Willett. “He shook my hand like the true gent he is. he’s a class act to be able to hold face like that, hurting like I imagine he would be. Just shows the character of the guy you’re going to have around the world number one spot for the next many years.”
Mind Boggling
Coming to grips with his major breakthrough in only his second Masters start took Willett a while.
“You dream about these kind of days,” he said. “But for them to happen, there’s four a year, so to actually be sat here, it’s still mind boggling.”
Willett, the son of a preacher and a math teacher, became only the second Englishman to win the Masters after three-time champion Nick Faldo, whose most recent victory came 20 years ago and helped him to have the honorific sir before his name now.
“I feel like I should be a sir, eh?” said Willett. “To follow on from Sir Nick is fantastic. There were great champions to win the Masters. I still can’t quite believe I’m going to be among them.
“I’ll have to see if a couple bottles of wine help it sink in.”
