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Posted March 23, 2016, 8:50 am
BY
Scott Michaux
|
Staff Writer

Willett, Streelman able to play after babies arrive early

  • Article Photos
    Willett, Streelman able to play after babies arrive early
    Photos description
    Danny Willett and his wife, Nicole, cuddle during the 2015 Par-3 Contest. Their firstborn arrived in late March.
  • Article Photos
    Willett, Streelman able to play after babies arrive early
    Photos description
    Nicole Willett holds the flag for her husband Danny Willett on No. 7 during the Par-3 Contest at Augusta National Golf Club in 2015.
Danny Willett would be a logical pick in any Masters pool – a young Englishman with plenty of game.
 
That’s all assuming Willett isn’t dragging from new fatherhood.
 
The No. 12 player in the world, who tied for 38th in his Masters debut last year, was at the mercy of childbirth on whether he would play at Augusta. His wife, Nicole, was pregnant with their first child, and the due date was April 10 – Masters Sunday. Carrying a beeper was not an option, as she was at home in England.
 
Willett dodged that dilemma when the couple’s first child, Zachariah James, arrived 12 days early after the Englishman returned home from the WGC-Match Play. In Willett’s terms, their son was properly “cooked” and willing to cooperate with his pop’s golf schedule.
 
Another new arrival also seemed timed to avoid his father’s trip to Augusta. Kevin Streelman’s wife, Courtney, gave birth in late March to their second child, Rhett Davis. The baby had been due Masters Saturday.
 
Both golfers had said they would do what they needed to do to be with family, even if it meant skipping the tournament.
 
“My family is more important than any silly thing we do on grass,” Streelman said earlier this year. “I’ll always be there for my wife.”
 
Zachariah’s birth proved to have fortunate timing for the 28-year-old Willett, who finished second to Rory McIlroy in the seasonlong European Tour points race, and picked up in 2016 where he left off, winning in Dubai in February.
 
His surge of success, which included a tie for sixth in the British Open last year, is no surprise from the former Walker Cup player.
 
Save for the occasional issues with his back that have staggered his progress, he’s been on a track toward the top of the rankings since leaving Jacksonville State to turn pro in 2008.
 
“There’s only one place that everyone up there (in the rankings) wants to be and that’s everyone’s goal,” Willett said. “I don’t think you can ask anyone in the top 50 in the world, I guess, and they wouldn’t tell you that they are striving to be No. 1. … That’s what you work hard for. I don’t work hard to try and finish average. You work hard to try and win.”
 
Willett grew up a vicar’s son in Sheffield, the youngest of four sons whose brothers always had the edge on him competing in sports. That’s until one day when they all went to a par-3 course in Anglesey and the smallest of them proved to be the best.
 
“I didn’t need to be bigger or quicker,” he said. “So I took to it right away. It was a way for me to get my own back, really.”
 
Willett turned up in the No. 50 spot the final week of 2014 to sneak into his first Masters last year, wrapping three 1-under 71s around a disappointing 76 on Saturday.
 
“A great experience,” he said. “I didn’t play as well as I would have liked, but it was great fun. It’s an awesome place. I played the week before by myself and that was cool, but it was different on the Monday of tournament week. The crowds make such a difference. It’s not jaw-dropping when it’s quiet, but it is when the people are there. I dealt with it all pretty well. I stuck to my game plan. I just didn’t hole as many putts as I needed to on Saturday and Sunday.”
 
Willett expects to be more ready the second time around, even if he’s a little sleep-deprived after the first week as a father.
 
“It’s one of the golf tournaments you don’t really want to miss,” he said. “I’m looking forward to Augusta. Obviously, playing it last year, I’ve still got my books, all my notes. So if it’s a last-minute jaunt there, it would still be awesome.”
 
The birth of his first child certainly had an effect on Streelman’s time in Augusta.
 
Courtney Streelman’s first delivery was complicated by a liver condition that prompted their daughter, Sophia, to arrive six weeks early via cesarean section. Her second pregnancy has been marked by the same complications.
 
Last year, to honor all the care his daughter received in neonatal intensive care, Streelman contacted the Make-A-Wish Foundation to ask whether there were any kids who wanted to attend the Masters. He was referred to 13-year-old Ethan Couch of Alberta, Canada, who has an inoperable brain tumor.
 
Streel­man called Ethan and asked him to be his caddie for the Par-3 Contest, which left the youngster speechless and in tears.
 
“I just wanted to go to the Masters,” Ethan later said. “I didn’t expect this.”
 
With Ethan at his side, Streelman won the Par-3 Con­test in a playoff over Camilo Villegas.
 
Four days later, Streel­man qualified to return to Au­gusta for a fifth time by tying for a career-best 12th. He got up-and-down for par on the last hole, making a 10-foot putt. But his return was made possible when playing partner Kevin Na missed a 6-footer that could have given him 12th place alone. 
Danny Willett

 

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