Had little Zachariah arrived on time, first-time father Danny Willett would still be celebrating on April 10, but not in the American Deep South, rather across the pond in northern England. The early delivery meant Willett did not have to skip the Masters. That perhaps was the first of the chain of events that would conspire to make this 28-year-old the first Englishman since Nick Faldo in 1996 to win the Augusta Masters, the most coveted title in golf. Willett held his nerve when others around him lost theirs — none more spectacularly than defending champion Jordan Spieth. With his quadruple bogey on the 12th hole, he lost the title as much as Willett won it.
Since the decline of Tiger Woods, golf has been searching for the next superstar. It appeared to have found one in Rory McIlroy, but the talented Northern Irishman, a four-time major winner, has sometimes betrayed a mental vulnerability. While people were waiting for McIlroy to mature, along came Spieth. In his second-ever appearance at Augusta last year, he pulled off a wire-to-wire win reminiscent of Woods’ triumph here in 1997. Two months later, he lifted the US Open title. Spieth would finish there and thereabouts in both the British Open and the PGA Championship. It’s a remarkable feat.
Few would have bet against Spieth when he was seven-under on Sunday. But that’s when it all unravelled. At Amen Corner, Spieth plonked the ball, and his hopes, in water, twice. But a glimpse into golf’s post-Woods future came right after. Where a lesser golfer would have disintegrated, Spieth fired two birdies but ran out of holes. If he can rebound similarly from the overall disappointment, golf perhaps will have found its next superstar.
