What Danny Willett said about playing Masters after shoulder surgery, triple-bogey finish
In many ways, Danny Willett’s return to Augusta went better than planned.
The 2016 Masters Tournament champion didn’t make the final call about playing until after a Sunday practice round. For all intents and purposes, 1-under through 36 holes is an excellent way to head into the weekend.
The wind didn’t do anybody any favors Friday, but Willett’s second round took a serious turn on the final hole of the day. A triple-bogey on No. 18 took him from 4-under to 1-under in just a matter of minutes.
“It was tough out there. No, not the finish. Yeah, it was a shame, but one of those things,” he said. “I think 1-under after a couple of rounds, might be five or six back, but from where it's been, in for the weekend, and can still make a run and have a good finish.”
The journey through No. 18 began with an errant tee shot to the right of the fairway. With an unplayable lie, a drop sent his third shot into the bunker to the left of the green. His first attempt to reach the green landed back in the sand, his second landing on the green for a 54-foot bogey putt. A two-putt from seven feet ended his afternoon.
“We went in that front trap, and I thought the sand was all right, but with the wind making the sand drifts almost, and there was a hell of a lot of sand in the front of it and not much in the front,” he said. “Not the way you want to finish the day, but top 10 going into the weekend. Press on.”
Even though his shoulder is 100 percent, he’s still finding the long layoff has become a challenge. Practice is one thing, but playing competitive golf on the biggest stage is difficult to replicate on the driving range.
“It was tricky. Yesterday the first tee shot was tough. Nerves, anxiety. You know that your practice has been all right, but you have visions of topping off the first tee or doing whatever. It's a strange one, six and a half months is a long time,” he said. “And even though you've practiced it's different when your hands are shaking and you've got people watching you as opposed to practicing at home. The patrons here, when I come back here, I get amazing support from the guys out there. It's nice to get another two days here.”
With that, he still didn’t expect his first 36 holes to go as well as they did.
“No. But unfortunately when you get under the gun and start playing all right, you start thinking about different things," he said. "It will be lovely to be here on the weekend. Fingers crossed it's not pumping 50 over the weekend.”
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Danny Willett makes cut in 2024 Masters after shoulder surgery
