{"id":1249707,"date":"2024-02-28T10:00:14","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T10:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/golftoday.co.uk\/danny-willett-pushing-to-be-fully-fit-for-masters-after-shoulder-surgery\/"},"modified":"2024-02-28T11:21:13","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T11:21:13","slug":"danny-willett-pushing-to-be-fully-fit-for-masters-after-shoulder-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/golftoday.co.uk\/danny-willett-pushing-to-be-fully-fit-for-masters-after-shoulder-surgery\/","title":{"rendered":"Danny Willett pushing to be fully fit for Masters after shoulder surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"
As a former Masters champion, Danny Willett will definitely be at Augusta National for the first major of the year.<\/p>\n
Whether he is there just to sample the delights of Jon Rahm\u2019s menu for the champions dinner or swinging a golf club in anger is less certain as he battles to regain full fitness following shoulder surgery.<\/p>\n
Willett looked set to challenge for a second BMW PGA Championship title in September when he covered his first 12 holes in six under par, only to aggravate a shoulder tear after hitting his tee shot on the 15th.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nDanny Willett during day two of the 2023 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth (Zac Goodwin\/PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/p>\n
The 2019 champion played through the pain barrier and completed all 72 holes at Wentworth but underwent surgery the following week and faces a race against time to compete at Augusta, where he won in dramatic style in 2016.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe surgery went really well, I\u2019m back hitting balls right now but Augusta is six weeks away. It\u2019ll be very, very close,\u201d Willett told the PA news agency at the launch of Prostate Cancer UK\u2019s fundraising challenge, The Big Golf Race.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a long time rehabbing it just to get it up to strength to be able to take the capacity and the load that it needs to. We\u2019ll know more when we start practising in America as to how we\u2019re getting on.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe beauty of potentially playing [the Masters] is the fact that I know the golf course that well I\u2019m probably not going to be slogging around 18 holes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in practice rounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be able to take it a little bit easier but I also don\u2019t want to go there and just make up the numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nMasters champion Danny Willett, his wife Nicole and son Zach during a photocall at Lindrick Golf Club (Peter Byrne\/PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/p>\n
Willett had been managing his shoulder problem for several months before it flared up at Wentworth and the extent of the damage was only discovered when he went under the knife.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought there was one tear and when the surgeon went in he realised there were two tears and a good bit of damage around the cartilage and a few cysts he had to clear out,\u201d Willett said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty intrusive surgery and it was a bit scary when I first came out and I could barely lift my own hand. You wonder if you\u2019ve done the right thing but now it feels pretty good.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately I\u2019m only 36 so I\u2019ve still got a hell of a long time left in my career, so to have this time out now will hopefully mean I can come back and prolong my career and have another good 10 or 15 years at it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Willett is now into his fourth year of supporting Prostate Cancer UK\u2019s fundraising efforts and raised \u00a338,000 as host of the British Masters for two years as title sponsors Betfred donated \u00a31,000 for every birdie he made.<\/p>\n
The 36-year-old admits it was \u201cstaggering\u201d to learn that prostate cancer affects one in eight men in the UK and is backing this year\u2019s The Big Golf Race, which challenges golfers to play 36, 72 or even 100 holes in a day.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great charity to support,\u201d Willett said. \u201cAs men, if something\u2019s not right or we don\u2019t feel well, very rarely do we go and get it sorted so it was about making people aware to go and get checked.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of my old England coaches Steve Rolley was diagnosed and fortunately they got it early enough and he\u2019s now fine. It\u2019s amazing how many people it has affected that you know, but how little information there was out there about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
::: Danny Willett is supporting Prostate Cancer UK\u2019s golf fundraising challenge, The Big Golf Race, which is calling on golfers to take on 36, 72 or 100 holes in a day to raise money and help save men\u2019s lives. To sign up, visit prostatecanceruk.org\/get-involved\/activity\/golf\/the-big-golf-race<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Willett was Masters champion in 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1249708,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[9051],"class_list":["post-1249707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-pa-news","priority_tax-homepage-slider"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"Danny](\"\/\/image.assets.pressassociation.io\/v2\/image\/production\/7438e6a6c99564e0460f2663c9d1b3daY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzA4NjEyODc5\/2.73729962.jpg?w=640\")
![\"Danny](\"\/\/image.assets.pressassociation.io\/v2\/image\/production\/c3a0c8c639d65dc951418559262e8869Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzA4NjEzMDk3\/2.26062638.jpg?w=640\")