WALKER Cup player Danny Willett, the Yorkshire and English champion from Rotherham, moves into the new season with a remarkable handicap of plus five – the best in the country and among the best in the world.
The clergyman's son from Rotherham, 20 this year, currently stands second in the R&A’s World Amateur Golf Rankings behind American Ricky Fowler, though they are based on performances rather than handicaps.
As the counting season closed last year, Willett was second in terms of handicap in the world to another American, Colt Knost, the player he was paired with in the singles in September’s Walker Cup match and who then turned professional.Willett, who also won the South of England title last season, has ended his stay at Alabama State University and will play the amateur circuit full time this year.
International calls are likely to make him unavailable for Sheffield's Inter-Union programme.England have just called him and fellow elite squad player Steve Uzzell, from Hornsea, to travel for a match against Australia.
Up and down
WHEN such as Chris Hanson and David Astin open their bids for European Tour membership, they will have the choice of taking the high road or low road.With there being no North of England venue for the first stage, Section A of the qualifying school, Dundonald Links, a new lay-out near Troon which is owned by the company that created the exclusive Loch Lomond course, will host the initial test on September 9-12 along with Chart Hills, Kent. Fleesensee, in Germany, stages the continental leg.Alternatively, players can apply to enter at The Oxfordshire, Moliets in France and Bogogno, Italy, where the First Stage, Section B is played on September 16-19.Montenmedio, near Cadiz, joins Spanish counterparts Arcos Gardens, Golf Costa Ballena and Sherry Golf Jerez as a venue for the second stage of the school on November 5-8.After 13 years at San Roque the six-rounds final of the school moves to the PGA Golf de Catalunya in Southern Spain on November 13-18.Meanwhile, the PGA EuroPro Tour has added another new event to its schedule, at The Shire, near London, the first course built in the UK by Seve Ballesteros, on May 7-9.
