Master Willett Plans More Titles

Danny Willett - Getty Images

Winning the Masters is a "fantastic start" to achieving "special things" in golf, says Danny Willett.

The Yorkshireman, 28, is the first European winner at Augusta since 1999 and only the fourth British champion.

"It's a great feeling and hopefully one we can have many more times," said Willett of his first major victory.

Willett's manager Chubby Chandler said the golfer could win another major this year and become number one in the world "without any doubt".

Carding a final-round five-under-par 67, the Englishman took advantage of defending champion Jordan Spieth dropping six shots in three holes.

The last European to win at Augusta was Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal, while the only other British champions have been Nick Faldo (1989, 1990, 1996), Sandy Lyle (1988) and Ian Woosnam (1991).

Chandler said Willett, a 2007 Walker Cup team-mate of three-time major winner Rory McIlroy, could "become one of the greats of his time".

"He won't be distracted. He knows exactly what he's trying to do. Winning the Masters is the start of the journey, not the end of the journey," said Chandler.

"He knows exactly how many majors Rory has won and he will want to get up there and past Rory's tally. If you take Tiger Woods out, what is the next best tally of majors among current players? Phil Mickeslon with five."

The former English amateur champion turned professional in 2008, but his progress has been slower than others of his generation, such as McIlroy, Spieth and Rickie Fowler, with ongoing back problems halting his progress.

But Chandler revealed that the vicar's son, once the top-ranked amateur golfer in the world, carefully managed his back problems and used his father, Steve, as a psychologist.

"He had his trainer in Augusta and he's got a terrible back, so once a month he has a check-up, and then he goes on and does his thing properly," he said.

"He works so hard in the gym, partly because of his back and because he wants to, so he will be here for a long time."

Willett, who described his victory on Sunday as "surreal", admitted he is not yet at the level of world number three McIlroy, 26, and world number two Spieth, 22.

"They've obviously achieved a good bit more than me. I've still got a bit of a way to go to be up there with those boys," added Willett, who moves to ninth in the world rankings after his Augusta win.

"But it is a fantastic start in the right direction of doing pretty special things in big tournaments.

"I'm just looking forward to being in that illustrious group of major winners, making sure I move forward in my game and seeing what else I can achieve."

Facts - Danny Willett

The son of a vicar, he was born on 3 October, 1987 in Sheffield

Left school at 16 but later attended Jacksonville State University in Alabama on a golfing scholarship

Won the 2007 English Amateur Championship and in early 2008 became the world's top-ranked amateur

Turned professional in 2008 and clinched his first European Tour victory at the 2012 BMW International Open in Germany

Won twice on the European Tour in the 2015 season and made his Masters debut where he finished tied 38th

Captured his fourth European Tour victory at the Dubai Desert Classic in February 2016

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Ian Woosnam Ends Masters Career

Ian Woosnam The Masters, Round 2 - Getty Images

Former champion Ian Woosnam says the 2016 Masters will be his last because of a persistent back injury.

The 58-year-old is set to miss the cut after finishing his second round 19 over par, following his opening score of 82 by carding an 81.

It is 25 years since Woosnam triumphed at Augusta to become the first - and still only - Welshman to win one of golf's major championships.

"I am in pain all the way round so it's time to say bye-bye really," he said.

"There's not much they can do. I have ankylosing spondylitis and I can't play with all the slopes here.

"I was swinging it beautiful before I came here. I am always taking painkillers just to play golf but it's just too tough here for me.

"I said in the past that if I started shooting in the 80s I would call it a day."

Woosnam carded a double bogey, eight bogeys and a solitary birdie on the 15th in his final competitive round at Augusta.

But he could take the positives from finishing with a par on the 18th, just as he did in 1991 to edge out Jose Maria Olazabal and Tom Watson for the Green Jacket.

"That was a great way to finish. The 18th was as well as I played this week," added Woosnam.

"It's just getting really tough. That's my last go. I am not fit enough to play with my bad back.

"Every time I play this course it just seizes on me and I can't swing the club properly.

"It's time for me to sit back and watch. I'll still keep coming to the tournament obviously.

"It's a shame to finish off playing like that but you can only do your best. Never mind, I've still got a green jacket."

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Jordan Spieth Shows Masters Class

Jordan Spieth - Getty Images

Jordan Spieth holds a two-shot lead going into Friday's second round after carding a six-under-par 66 at Augusta National.

With Rory McIlroy slipping back late to two under, Spieth made his move early with three birdies on the front nine.

The 22-year-old American added three more on the back nine as he went through his round without a bogey.

Shane Lowry is four under, while England's Paul Casey, Ian Poulter and Justin Rose are three under.

"I put it up there with one of the best rounds I've played," said world number two Spieth. "I got a lot out of the round with what I felt like was kind of average-ish ball striking."

After a stellar 2015, Spieth came to Augusta in less certain form.

But his remarkable record on this course - runner-up to Bubba Watson on his debut in 2014, champion in a record-equalling score a year ago having made a first-round 64 - continued as greens softened by overnight rain did only a little to compensate for a tricky blustery wind.

A birdie on the 10th was followed by crucial par saves from the trees on the 11th and over the green on the 12th, before a two-putt on the 13th for birdie.

Spieth, who is looking to become just the fourth player after Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods to retain the Masters title, kissed his putter after holing from 15 feet for par on the 16th.

And he finished with a birdie from five feet to reach a cumulative 29 under par for his nine competitive rounds at Augusta.

"I think the round may have been better than the first round last year because of the conditions - I would have signed for two under today and not even played the round, knowing the conditions that were coming up," said the Texan.

Casey said of his playing partner: "That was a flawless round. I played a wonderful round, but it was great to have a front-row seat to watch that."

World number one Jason Day had moved to within a shot of Spieth on the 14th but then three-putted the 15th before driving into the water on 16.

That resulted in a double bogey and a four-shot swing across the two holes, and an errant tee shot on the next led to another dropped shot as he closed on even par.

Lowry, 29, had four birdies across the first five holes and held on across a solid back nine to join New Zealand's Danny Lee on four under.

"I'm sure I'm going to be sitting back tonight thinking at some stage about wearing a Green Jacket. I'm only human," he said.

"But I've just got to kind of give myself a slap in the face and get myself back into reality and try to get down to business and keep hitting good shots and see where that leaves me at the end of the week."

After a contrastingly inconsistent start, McIlroy began his own charge with an eagle on the 13th, a magnificent approach followed by a 10-foot putt.

A birdie attempt on the next missed by a whisker, but he sank a 12-foot putt up the slope on 15 to go to four under, only to miss a short one on 16 to drop back.

He then put a short approach on the 18th into the bunker, splashed his shot from the sand 20 feet past the flag and left the par putt short to end the day in 10th.

"If someone had given me 70 on the first tee I probably would have taken it," said McIlroy. "It's a little disappointing with the way I finished, but anything under par was a good score."

Casey, who finished joint sixth last year after failing to qualify for the previous two Masters, had moved within a shot of the lead with a birdie of his own on the 16th before dropping back with a bogey on the par-four 17th.

The 38-year-old was joined at three under by first Rose, in a round that combined six birdies with three bogies, and later an upbeat Poulter.

Rose, joint second a year ago, was utilising a new putting grip, switching to a 'claw' for the first time.

"I stumbled across it last week and it just felt too good to deny," said the 35-year-old.

"I have putted OK this year but I feel if I am going to win the Masters I am going to have to putt great - it was a gamble but I felt it was one worth taking."

Poulter, 40, dropped shots on 10 and 11 but battled back with birdies on the 13th, 14th and 16th.

He said: "That was tricky out there - the wind was swirling around the front nine, but I played lovely."

Four bogeys and a double bogey on the back nine left two-time champion Watson with a three-over 75, but it was South African Ernie Els who was the talk of the course after a horrific putting display on the first green.

The four-time major winner, who has twice finished second at the Masters, reached the green in three but then six-putted from within three feet.

It was the worst ever first-hole score at the tournament, and left the 46-year-old five over as he trudged to the second tee.

Rickie Fowler was another big name to endure a poor start as a double bogey on the first and an eight on 13 contributed to an eight-over-par 80.

"Golf's tough. It's a fine line, especially at this place," the American said.

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The Masters - Preview

Rory McIlroy

Golf's first major of the year is almost upon us, with the world's finest players preparing to make their annual pilgrimage to one of sport's most iconic venues.

The first tee shot will be hit on Thursday, 7 April, with a field of fewer than 100 men aiming to sink the winning putt on Sunday, 10 April.

World number one Jason Day, Jordan Spieth - bidding to become the first man to defend the title since Tiger Woods in 2002 - and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy head the field in the year's first major.

Few people, including the bookmakers, are looking past the world's top three players - Day, Spieth and McIlroy - to set the agenda at Augusta.

Day and world number two Spieth won three of last year's four majors, while 26-year-old McIlroy is looking to complete the career Grand Slam.

Spieth, 22, has failed to find his best form in recent weeks, missing a cut for only the eighth time since the start of the 2014 season, before narrowly avoiding another early exit two weeks later.

The American defended his form after being called "garbage" by an internet 'troll', while McIlroy backed his rival by insisting Spieth's form was "not slumping".

US PGA champion Day, 28, has continued his fine start to the season by winning back-to-back tournaments, showing little rustiness from a three-month break at the end of last year after becoming a father for the second time.

The Australian suffered an injury scare in his opening pool match at last month's WGC-Dell Match Play, but recovered to win the tournament for the second time in three years.

McIlroy steps on to Augusta's first tee on Thursday aiming to become only the sixth man to claim the clean sweep.

Rory is seeking a first Masters title following victories at the US Open, the Open Championship and the US PGA.

Winning the Green Jacket would propel him into exalted company alongside Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Gene Sarazen, Gary Player and Ben Hogan.

And that is the world number three's main priority. "It's all about Augusta," he said last month.

McIlroy will miss Augusta's annual Par 3 Contest, which takes place the day before Thursday's first round, in order to concentrate on winning the year's first major.

"Maybe the decision not to play it this year can work in my favour," he said, perhaps bearing in mind the 'Par 3 curse' - no player has won both in the same year.

McIlroy might well offer the best hope of providing a first European winner since Jose Maria Olazabal in 1999, but he is just one of 16 British and Irish players aiming to emulate the Spaniard.

Former US Open champion Justin Rose, currently ranked eighth in the world, continues his search for a second major, while fellow Englishman Danny Willett is expected to make his second Augusta appearance following the birth of his first child.

The Yorkshireman has risen from outside the top 100 to the fringe of the top 10 in less than two years.

Familiar names such as Lee Westwood - who sneaked into the world's top 50 in mid-December to qualify - Paul Casey, Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter all return to Augusta.

England's Andy Sullivan and Scotland's Russell Knox, who both broke into the top 50 last year, will step into the locker room for the first time.

At the other end of the scale, veterans Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam, both 58, will play after accepting their annual invites as past champions.

Europe's contingent have not won at Augusta since two-time winner Olazabal's last success 17 years ago, allowing American players to regain dominance of the Masters in recent years.

The famed Georgia course has produced eight home winners in the past 12 years - and, as well as Spieth, there are several others with strong ambitions of becoming the third consecutive American champion.

Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, the world number four, is one of the favourites alongside Spieth, McIlroy and Day.

The 37-year-old left-hander heads to Augusta having claimed two wins as well as a second-place finish in his eight tournaments this year.

Phil Mickelson - a three-time winner and veteran of 12 other top-10 finishes at Augusta - is expected to mount another challenge, while Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed - who are all ranked inside the world's top 10 - will head down Magnolia Lane hopeful of winning their first major.

Recent Masters winners

2015: Jordan Spieth (US) 2010: Phil Mickelson (US)

2014: Bubba Watson (US) 2009: Angel Cabrera (Arg)

2013: Adam Scott (Aus) 2008: Trevor Immelman (SA)

2012: Bubba Watson (US) 2007: Mach Johnson (US)

2011: Charl Schwartzel (SA) 2006: Phil Mickelson (US)

Away from the Americans, look no further than 2016's form man - 2013 champion Adam Scott.

The 35-year-old Australian leads the PGA Tour standings - just ahead of Day - after claiming back-to-back titles last month.

Scott claimed the Honda Classic at Palm Beach and then beat Watson by one shot at the WGC Championship at Doral.

"I think Bubba is the favourite," said Scott after pipping Watson with a closing 69 at Trump National in Miami.

"Even if I won every tournament I play before the Masters, if Bubba keeps finishing second, I'd still think he's favoured. It just sets up so good there for him."

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