Danny Willett Looking To Become First Englishman To Win Open Since Nick Faldo - Golf.com
ANDREWS, Scotland – Danny Willett received a congratulatory text from his mom Elizabeth after a second-round 69 gave him a two-stroke lead early in the second round of the 144th British Open at St. Andrews. The writers in the interview room cracked up laughing as Willett recounted the exchange. An English golfer has not won the British Open since Nick Faldo in 1992, and fans seemed to sense history in the making as Willett, 27, of Sheffield, England, walked off the 10th tee at the Old Course. Willett had just birdied the par-4 ninth hole. Amid the throngs of vocal fans who filled the grandstands he birdied the 10th, too, to get to 10-under par, three ahead of Dustin Johnson, who had yet to begin his round. Meanwhile, American fans could be forgiven for asking: Who is Danny Willett. RELATED: Live Scores From Round 2 At St. Andrews. The short answer to that last question is he’s fought back problems, especially in 2013 but also in February of this year, when he withdrew from the Malaysian Open after going 3-over for his first 12 holes. Upon arriving at the Old Course for his tee time, he saw that, as Paddy Harrington would put it, “The town of St. Andrews drained into the first fairway. Willett went back to the hotel to lie down some more as he waited out the three-plus-hour rain delay, but he is nothing if not adaptive. Friday’s lengthy delay did not bother Willett,. Source: www.golf.com
