Victory at last year’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic was the catalyst for a memorable year for Danny Willett, and the Englishman is in good spirits as he prepares to start his defence at Emirates Golf Club.
Last year a brilliant clutch putt on the 18th was enough to seal a final round 69 as he finished one shot clear of Andy Sullivan and Rafa Cabrera Bello after an absorbing Sunday afternoon tussle.
Just two months on from that win in Dubai, Willett experienced the finest moment of his career so far, producing a gutsy performance to win the Masters Tournament and become the first Englishman to don the Green Jacket for 20 years.
Willet is one of the stars in an impressive field this week, including The Open champion Henrik Stenson and 11-time European Tour winner Sergio Garcia.
Adding extra intrigue is the presence of Tiger Woods, a two-time champion at Emirates Golf Club, who is playing his first European Tour event after 15 months out of the game with back problems. He may be ranked 666th in the Official World Golf Ranking, but the 14-time Major champion remains one of the biggest draws in sport as he continues his comeback after missing the cut in San Diego last week.
Danny Willett: “Last year this tournament was the start of really what was an amazing season. I played some pretty good golf in the run up, then it was one of them weeks where everything kind of clicked nicely.
“It was the first time I think within a tournament that I had been in and around the lead all week, instead of either coming from behind early on or having a biggish-lead with nine to play.
“You look at Augusta, I could draw on Dubai quite a lot, how I played and how I played under pressure and how I composed myself mentally and having to hole a few key putts at the right time.
“Every event that we play on The European Tour, they are all fantastic golf events. But when Rory is here or when Tiger is here, it makes it that little bit extra special.
“To see Tiger playing last week, I watched pretty much every shot of his two rounds last week and it was just great seeing him back in action. So I think he’s coming here, as he always is, to try and win. I think that’s great for The European Tour to have arguably the greatest player of all time come to Dubai and to try and take that championship trophy away on Sunday.
“There are a few of us that are going to try and stop him, but yeah, it’s great to have him back.”
Sergio Garcia: “I am obviously very excited to be back in Dubai. The course looks great and the weather’s great. So, we’re enjoying it as much as possible.
“The forecast is for some strong winds throughout the week. I’ve always enjoyed challenging conditions and if the high winds come, it will be challenging. I think it plays probably to my strengths.
“I think that Tiger has obviously got a lot of qualities and he can get to a high level, but the way he played like in early 2000 and stuff like that, it is difficult. I think to get to that level is very difficult, even for him, because he’s 40 now. So his body doesn’t move the way it used to move when he was 20, 25.
“The hunger is still there for me. I still want to keep achieving things. I still want to keep becoming a better golfer. Fortunately for me, I’m still in good shape. Physically I’m still doing well. I’ve been able to avoid injuries for pretty much my whole career, so that’s always a positive.
“You know, I’m excited to keep improving, keep giving myself chances at winning tournaments, winning Majors, and just give the best that I have got in me.”
