A maiden Major title, the birth of his first child, a Ryder Cup debut. It was certainly a memorable year for Danny Willett and, on the course at least, it was dominated by the stunning Masters Tournament victory that lifted him into the top ten of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time and helped seal a second successive second place finish on the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex.
After two European Tour titles and seven top ten finishes in 2015, the Englishman carried that impressive form in to the new season.
A fourth place finish at the Nedbank Golf Challenge was swiftly followed by an early victory at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in February.
He kept up the momentum, finishing third at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Then came the career-changing moment as he held his nerve to claim the Green Jacket and confirm his status as one of the best in the world.
He was his own worst critic as he struggled to recapture the euphoria of that Sunday at Augusta National in the months that followed - despite another two top ten finishes, including second place at the Italian Open. However, there’s no doubt that 2016 will go down in history as one of the best in Willett’s career.
Drama in Dubai
Willet was up and running early in the year as he sealed a dramatic Omega Dubai Desert Classic victory in February.
He began the day with a one-shot lead at Emirates Golf Club, and opened that up to three shots twice on Sunday afternoon, but a birdie on the last from Andy Sullivan and a birdie-birdie finish from Rafa Cabrera-Bello meant he needed to make a 15-foot putt for the title.
And make it he did, showing nerves of steel to send the ball down the slope, left-to-right and into the cup to seal the fourth European Tour win of his career.
“You can't buy that feeling, coming down the last three holes, in contention in a golf tournament."
A Masterful Performance
With wife Nicole expecting their first child, the Sheffield native was unsure if he would travel to Augusta for a tilt at the Masters.
Fate intervened as baby Zachariah arrived before the tournament started, and 12 days later Willett was celebrating the finest victory of his career as he produced an impressively gutsy finish to take advantage of Jordan Spieth’s late collapse and become the first Englishman to don the Green Jacket for 20 years.
Willett came into the final round trailing Spieth by three shots, and he was five behind as the American reached the turn looking a near certainty to claim a second wire-to-wire win in as many years.
As Speith faltered, Willet carded a sublime bogey-free final round of 67 to hold off playing partner Lee Westwood and triumph by three shots.
Willett concedes that the days that followed Zachariah’s birth were not necessarily the greatest preparation for a golf tournament, but he clearly would not have changed a thing.
"Words can't describe what I'm feeling right now."
"It was tough, every time we seemed to make ground, Jordan kept pulling ahead and were just trying to dig in and dig in and try to make birdies. It was just a very surreal day when you look back at the ebbs and flows.
"Words can't describe what I'm feeling right now, but words definitely can't describe how I was feeling last Tuesday when I got to hold something that me and my wife have made. It's just been incredibly surreal. I'm just looking forward to getting back home and spending some time with them.”
Reflecting on the year
As he neared the end of the season Willett was in an introspective mood. After the high of Augusta, he had a sobering experience at Hazeltine National, failing to win a point on his Ryder Cup debut as Europe were beaten 17-11 by hosts USA.
By this point Willet had racked up two wins - including a Major title - and four top ten finishes, with second place at the Italian Open amongst them. He was on the way to second place on the Race to Dubai and by the end of the year he would also be nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. By most standards, it was a season worth celebrating, but as he spoke to europeantour.com ahead of the penultimate event of the season, Willett gave an insight in to life after the Masters.
“I guess I need to try to step back more often and look at what I have achieved, but it's a tricky one,” said Willett. “When you're playing, even if you’re playing great, you're always trying to get better. You're always trying to train harder, practice more. I won the Masters this year and that was unbelievable, but a few weeks later I’m out there trying to get better.
“Obviously that is what makes the difference in terms of being a tour pro, and I’m especially hard on myself.
“I’m working hard on trying to look at things from a broader aspect, but it’s crazy what comes in to your mind at times. Recently I thought ‘If you missed 20 cuts every year for the rest of your career but were guaranteed one Major in that year, would you class it as a good year?’ There would be varying opinions on that, but I would still say it's a good season.”
