Willett gears up for Masters

ROTHERHAM golfing star Danny Willett is “gearing up” for his first US Masters in Augusta  - and says he’ll shoot for the top.

Willett rose into the top 50 in the world rankings after a win at Nedbank in December and a good performance at the Alfred Dunhill Championship shortly after.

That gained him entry into one of the most prestigious events in the golfing calendar for the first time, meaning the 27-year-old will now test himself against the world’s very top pros.

But it was on receiving the invitation in the post that it all became reality for Willett, who still plays his golf at Rotherham Golf Club in Thrybergh.

A recurrance of an old back injury forced him to pull out of the Malaysian Open last week but it was a precautionary move to ensure he had enough time to rest before his countdown to Augusta began.

Speaking at a press launch ahead  his big April date in America, Willett said: "My back injury is getting a lot easier to manage, I can feel when it is going to go now so pulling out in Malaysia was purely precautionary.

“I had been waiting for that piece of post (the invite) for a while and although I knew it was coming it didn’t really feel real until I had it in my hand.

“I thought it was going to come before me and the wife went on holiday, it was a case of waiting every morning and checking the post, so finally getting it was good.

“It’s took me a long time to get to the Masters, it’s something else to tick off the checklist," he says. "We’re gearing up for it now, there’s a few events in America before so it’s now a case of a pat on the back - I got there which is good - but I need to get the game ready to go there and try and win."

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