Danny Willett completes emotional victory in Dubai, ending injury-blighted 953-day hiatus

Willet with his wife, Nic, and their two young sons, Zac and Noah - Getty Images Europe
Willet with his wife, Nic, and their two young sons, Zac and Noah - Getty Images Europe

Perhaps the best gauge of how much this meant to Danny Willett was that he cried on the 18th green here and that there had been no tears when he won the Masters in 2016. But then, after the depths to which this proud Yorkshireman plummeted  in the wake of his Augusta glory, it is not surprising the emotions poured fourth on this occasion.

This DP World Tour Championship was Willett’s 63rd event since that major breakthrough and in a staggering 32 of these he either missed the cut or had withdrawn after looking like missing the cut. From world No 9, he spiralled all the way to 462nd and despite there being a good reason for that veritable nose-pincher - a persistent back complaint - there was inevitably many who wrote him off. 

The truth is, there were times in this 953-day hiatus when Willett even wrote himself off. “Yeah, there were periods I wasn’t sure I was ever going to do this again and even if I really wanted to play golf, so this is pretty special,” he said, after receiving his cheque for £1m. “Obviously Augusta is always going to be special to me,  but this, coming back after everything that's happened, is going to go down in my history books as one of the most pleasing.”

Willett paid credit to coach Sean Foley - who also oversees the career of Justin Rose - and reiterated that his main aim for 2018 was simply to be pain-free. Yet it became increasingly clear in the last few months that he would have to raise his ambitions somewhat as he recorded three top 10s, including a tie for seventh a fortnight before. All that reborn promise was encapsulated in a 68 that oozed gumption and class in windy conditions at the Earth Course and helped him to a two-shot triumph on 18-under.

England's Danny Willett hugs his caddy as after he won the DP World Tour Championship golf tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018 - Credit:  AP
Willett hugs his caddy after winning the tournament Credit: AP

There was a certain symmetry to his comeback win as alongside was Patrick Reed, the current Masters champion. Willett’s 50-footer for eagle on the second took him into the outright lead and although that advantage was erased with bogeys on the 10th and 12th, the 31-year-old responded with three birdies on the 13th, 14th and 17th. 

That last birdie, after a brilliant tee-shot to five feet, took him two clear and seemed to have made the 18th a formality, but there was still time for tension. Willett’s tee-shot looked destined for the stream which splits the fairway diagonally, but it somehow came to rest on the very edge. All that was left was for him was to lay up on the par five and close it out and cue the water of a different variety as he hugged wife, Nic, and their two young sons, Zac and Noah.

Reed and Wallace were forced to settle for a share of second on 16-under after a 70 and 68 respectively. For the latter, as well as a cheque for £600,000, there so much consolation to be found at the climax of a campaign in which he won three times. Wallace, the 28-year-old from Hillingdon who was playing on the mini-tours two years ago, breaks into the world’s top 50 for the first time and is primed to earn an invite to next year’s Masters. 

Patrick Reed of the USA on the 18th hole during the final round of the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates on November 18, 2018 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Credit: Getty Images
Patrick Reed finished second to complete a strong 2018 in which he won the Masters Credit: Getty Images

Certainly the sponsors were happy for so many rich storylines  as the season-long Race to Dubai battle concluded with barely a whimper. Tommy Fleetwood needed to win to overhaul Francesco Molinari and the defending champion could only manage a tie for 16th on 10-under following a 68. 

Molinari’s 71 for a tie for 26th on 10-under did not begin to sum up his incredible year and he was fully worth of adding his name alongside those of Seve Ballesteros, Sir Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie and Rory McIlroy. “Earlier this year if someone had told me I would go on to win at Wentworth, then win on the PGA Tour, then win The Open, then get five points at the Ryder Cup, and then win the Race To Dubai, I  would have laughed,” the Italian said. "I'm so proud."

If Molinari can now claim the title of Europe’s No 1 then Rose reclaimed the world No 1 tag even though he was enjoying a week off. Brooks Koepka’s 12th place at the Dunlop Phoenix Open in Japan caused him to fall a few fractions of a ranking point and that allowed Rose to perform the unwitting leapfrog. 

However, Rose’s third stay on the top rung will only last a week, as the vagaries of system mean that Koepka will rise above the Englishman again next Monday, despite neither on them playing in the meantime. Confused? You should be.