Willett in the SPOTY frame after surprise Masters success
Published:
It may go down as the Masters that Jordan Spieth tossed away, rather than the one Danny Willett won, but that’s hardly likely to bother the Englishman after he claimed his first Major title on Sunday night.
Capitalising on a remarkable collapse by the hitherto impeccable Spieth, Willett took the Green Jacket by three shots from countryman Lee Westwood, who tied for second place with the crestfallen American.
It had looked like yet another wire-to-wire success for the young Texan when he birdied four consecutive holes to close the front nine and earn a five-stroke lead.
But then the wheels fell off in remarkable fashion. Bogeys at the 10th and 11th holes preceded a jaw-dropping collapse for the defending champion at 12, where he twice found the water on the par three.
A quadruple-bogey seven opened the door for Willett and Westwood, but it was the former that strode through it, carding a five-under par 67 to claim victory.
Amid the shock and celebration, Ladbrokes priced up a host of specials focussing on the new champion.
The bookmaker goes 12/1 that the world number nine wins any of the year’s remaining three Major tournaments, and offers 14/1 that Willett rolls in the winning Ryder Cup putt later in the year.
It is in the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year field that the Sheffield native stands to profit most though, with the Masters triumph pushing him on to the shoulder of market leaders Anthony Joshua and Jamie Vardy at 5/1.
Despite his catastrophic meltdown, Spieth remains a leading fancy to bounce back in the US Open, where he’s shares favouritism with Rory McIlroy at 7/1.
Willett, who was a 66/1 hope for the Master pre-tournament, is now half that price for the June Major and is as short as 25/1 to win the British Open Championship, held this year Royal Troon in Scotland.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
