After firing off a 5-under 68 for his final round, 2016 Masters Champion and Englishman Danny Willett has won the 2019 BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club. He finished with a three shot lead over final round partner Jon Rahm. This is Willett's first win of 2019 and his last win since the 2018 DP World Tour Championship. He is also the first Englishman to win the tournament since Chris Wood in 2016.
Willett's final round was impressive, consisting of six birdies (including back-to-back on the 17th and 18th) and a single bogey. The bogey occurred on the 11th hole, where Willett found trouble with trees, but a key 40-foot putt limited the damage. Going into the final hole, Willett was up by two strokes over a pressing Jon Rahm. Rahm knew he needed at least a birdie to force a playoff, but was too aggressive with his second shot, finding water just short of the green. Willett on the other hand, took a safer approach and managed to birdie the hole for the win.
It is quite ironic that our last post here at Toronto Golf Reviews before our "break" was about Danny Willett winning the 2016 Masters. Even more ironic is perhaps the fact that at the conclusion of the 2018 BMW PGA Championship, Willett had dropped to 462nd in the World Golf Rankings, his lowest ranking since his rookie year.
Like many golfers in the past, after his major win, Willett struggled on the course with his new expectations and off the course with injuries. He was pointless in the 2016 Ryder Cup, lost his PGA Tour card and managed just one top-10 finish in 2017. It was a low point for Willett, but not the end, although it easily could have been.
“I’ve had an undying want to get back… I was willing to change whatever
had to be changed and that’s pretty hard to do… to jump full throttle
into something you’re not sure if it’s going to work out or not.” the Englishman said of his post-Masters struggles.
And come back he did, after the 2018 BMW PGA Championship. His hard work paid off, resulting in top-10 performances at the Irish and Turkish Airlines Open and a win at the DP World Tour Championship. This propelled Willett up to 90th in the World Golf Rankings. Further top-10 performances in 2019 at the RBC Canadian Open and Open Championship pushed him into the top-60. Now with this win, Willett is back in the the top-40.
Personally, I am happy to see that Danny Willett is back and not one of those "one and done" golfers. He's shown that he has what it takes to be an elite and world-class golfer. After all, he's had to battle high-profile fields in pretty much every tournament that he's won. If that's not the mark of a world class player then I don't know what is!
We end with a quick look of how our picks performed this week:
1) Matthew Fitzpatrick: T46 at 1-over
2) Tommy Fleetwood: T60 at 3-over
3) Rory McIlroy: T9 at 11-under
Not the best weeks for Fitzpatrick and Fleetwood, with both shooting over 70 in all their rounds. McIlroy on the other hand picks up another top-10 finish.
That's a wrap on our coverage of the 2019 BMW PGA Championship. Our couverage of the European tour continues this week of perhaps the best tournament on the European Tour (in my opinion), the exciting and dramatic Alfred Dunhill Links Championship!
Stay tuned for our preview and picks,
Not the best weeks for Fitzpatrick and Fleetwood, with both shooting over 70 in all their rounds. McIlroy on the other hand picks up another top-10 finish.
That's a wrap on our coverage of the 2019 BMW PGA Championship. Our couverage of the European tour continues this week of perhaps the best tournament on the European Tour (in my opinion), the exciting and dramatic Alfred Dunhill Links Championship!
Stay tuned for our preview and picks,
-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews
Danny Willett Wins the 2019 BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club
(Photo: Reuters)
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