Who’s the daddy?

Ernie Els may have suffered from ‘snakes on the brain’ but it was England’s Danny Willett who climbed the leaderboard ladder in the most dramatic of circumstances to become the Master at Augusta.

Some are even referring to him as the ‘Daddy of Augusta’ as he became a father for the first time days before the tournament and arrived late, thankful that his new son, Zachariah, arrived earlier than the scheduled date which ironically coincided with the day he won his first major.

Augusta is known as a course that presents birdie opportunities but is one that can spell disaster with one errant shot.

This was exemplified by Ernie Els who carded a nine on his very first hole, taking six putts after pitching his third to within three feet of the pin, hence his comments about feeling a little muddled with TV pundits suggesting an even worse score!

However, it was the capitulation of defending champion, Jordan Spieth, that will live in the memory. Despite still holding an excellent Masters record of never having finished outside the top two, Spieth dropped six shots in three holes at Amen Corner, including his first-ever quadruple bogey at the par-3 12th. Say a prayer that he can put the demons from these holes behind him.

Amen Corner, a term coined by legendary sports writer Herbert Warren Wind in 1958, strictly refers to the 11th, 12th and 13th holes, but many also tend to include the notoriously difficult 10th and it was here that started Spieth’s collapse.

Willett’s win proves that picking a winner of the Masters is akin to selecting the first past the post at the Grand National and meant he became the 50th winner in the 80th Masters event.

His five birdies in a bogey free round make him the first European winner of this event since 1999 (Jose Maria Olazabal) and the first Englishman since Nick Faldo in 1996 when, ironically, Greg Norman suffered a similar collapse to Spieth.

One of the allures of the Masters is tradition. In a cruel twist of fate Willett received his green jacket – a tradition started when Sam Snead was presented with the member’s blazer in 1949 – from Spieth.

However, the final word was left to Willett’s brother who was trending on social media as a result of his constant barrage throughout the closing holes who suggested that Willett should refuse the jacket ‘as green makes you look fat’.

Fat chance!