Danny Willett

An English golfer who claimed a shock Masters title in 2016 after a strong run of European Tour form.

Daniel John Willett was born on 3 October 1987 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, the third of four sons of Steve, a Church of England vicar, and Elisabet, a mathematics teacher, and grew up playing golf on a makeshift par-three course carved into a sheep field in Anglesey, Wales, alongside his older brothers. Willett left school at 16 before attending Jacksonville State University in the United States, setting a school scoring-average record, and turned professional in 2008, developing his game on the European Tour, where he won his first title at the 2012 BMW International Open. Willett delivered the finest achievement of his career at the 2016 Masters, coming from three shots back to win his maiden major championship just days after his wife, Nicole, gave birth to their first son, Zachariah, becoming just the second Englishman to win at Augusta and the first European champion there in 17 years. Willett went on to win the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai and the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, and has continued competing on both the European and PGA Tours, remaining one of the most respected English golfers of his generation.

Accurate iron player with strong short game

First Englishman to win Masters since Nick Faldo in 1996

• Masters Tournament 2016
• multiple DP World/European Tour wins including Dubai Desert Classic 2016