Danny Willett has struggled for form since his unlikely Masters triumph in 2016, but he showed signs of a return to form in the Canadian Open at TPC Toronto on Thursday
Danny Willett was in fine form at the Canadian Open on Thursday(Image: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Past Masters champion Danny Willett enjoyed a welcome return to form on the PGA Tour on Thursday, putting himself in early contention at the Canadian Open.
The Englishman, who stunned the golfing world to win the Green Jacket at Augusta National in 2016, has struggled for form since his career-defining moment, but he was back near the top of the leaderboard at TPC Toronto on Thursday.
Willett carded seven birdies en route to a five-under-par 65, finishing the day in a share of ninth place, while current Masters champion Rory McIlroy could only manage a one-over-par 71. Willett, 37, did not speak to reporters after his round, but he dubbed it a “Decent day’s work” in an Instagram post.
Willett started his day on the 10th hole and made a rapid start, carding back-to-back birdies. He picked up further shots at 14 and 15th before his first of two bogeys at 16. Successive birdies at the par-five 18th and first followed, and another arrived at the fourth.
A bogey on Willett’s final hole took the shine off an excellent day, but he doubtless would have taken a five-under-par opening round after a difficult start to the season.
He has missed four cuts in nine starts on the PGA Tour in 2025, with a T9 at the Farmers Insurance Open in January his only top-30 of the season.
All of Willett’s three wins since his Masters triumph have come on the DP World Tour, the last of which came at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2021. After peaking at ninth in the world rankings following his Masters win, he has fallen to 353rd place.
Willett won The Masters in 2016(Image: Getty Images)
Injuries have played a significant part in his slide, but in an appearance on the ‘How Leaders Lead’ podcast earlier this year, he admitted that he found his sudden rise to fame hard to deal with.
“It does get intrusive,” Willett admitted. “I wasn’t fully prepared for the media attention.
“I’m a lad from Sheffield and I’m pretty good at golf but no one could ever fully expose me to what the public attention is going to be like and how intrusive it’s going to be. I struggled with that at times.”
Willett will begin his second round on Friday four shots off the lead, with Thorbjorn Olesen and Cristobal Del Solar setting the pace at nine-under-par. Cameron Champ holds solo third place at eight-under, with Jake Knapp one shot further back.
Shane Lowry and Rasmus Hojgaard are among four players at six-under, while defending champion Bob MacIntyre is alongside Willett in a nine-strong group of players at five-under.
Olesen said: “Obviously, I played great, but my putting was exceptional today. Don’t think I missed any putts really out there. I definitely holed some long ones as well. It was nice to see everything go in.”
Del Solar added: “I think that, once you play the course, it’s a pretty straightforward strategy, just trying to go out and execute.
“That’s kind of what I did today, just executed very well. Had fun with my caddie, and the score kind of took care of itself.”
