Winning the Masters is one of golf’s biggest achievements and only a select few from the game of golf can ever say they’ve got their hands on a green jacket.
Some of the best players in the history of the game have won one or more green jackets, with Jack Nicklaus the record holder with six and Tiger Woods not far behind on five.
Heading into 2025, 87 golfers have won the Masters at least once, with some of those having more successful careers in general than others.
Among the winners are those who have won it just the once, with modern day stars like Patrick Reed, Hideki Matsuyama and Jordan Spieth just a handful of names to have got over the line at Augusta.
However, while the likes of Reed, Matsuyama and Spieth have enjoyed huge success on the PGA Tour alongside their Masters win, there is one man who hasn’t quite emulated that despite getting a Masters invite every year.
Step forward, Danny Willett.
How Danny Willett came from nowhere to win the Masters in 2016 ahead of Jordan Spieth
In terms of coming from nowhere to win, Danny Willett is one of the big success stories of the last decade when it comes to the Masters.
Going into the tournament in general and even the final round, few fancied the Sheffield-born Willett to even be remotely involved in the winner’s circle.
Willett was at even par and playing steadily after round three but found himself behind heavyweights like Jordan Spieth – who led at three under – as well as Jason Day, Bernhard Langer and Dustin Johnson.
However, in one of the most remarkable final rounds in Masters history, everything fell into place for Willett as he kept his head and allowed others to make mistakes.
Spieth famously found the water twice on 12 to make a quadruple bogey but bounced back with two birdies to get back into the mix before bogeying 17 to fall out of the equation and three shots behind Willett.
In the end, Willett’s excellent round of five under proved enough and it was actually fellow Englishman Lee Westwood who gave him the biggest scare. Indeed, with Paul Casey also tied for third, three Englishman were inside the top five at Augusta.
But while Willett enjoyed a deserved Masters success, his form never translated to the PGA Tour.
Danny Willet yet to win a PGA Tour event despite Masters success
While Jordan Spieth had a meltdown at Augusta, he’s still won two other majors and has more than ten other PGA Tour wins to his name.
Danny Willett, though, has none.
That’s not to say Willett got lucky at Augusta. Far from it. He is an accomplished golfer and has won the BMW PGA at Wentworth, as well as titles in Dubai and the European Masters.
However, he could never put his form into the PGA Tour and never got over the line. Coincidentally, his last full season on the PGA Tour in 22/23 saw him come agonisingly close to breaking that duck as he finished second at the Fortinet Championship.
For Willett, though, the wait goes on and now without a PGA Tour card, it’s hard to see him ever getting the monkey off his back.
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