Danny Willett’s reign as Masters champion is about to end and he has made quite a mess.
Willett, who opened the second round nine shots off the lead, essentially guaranteed he will not make by cut by taking a quadruple-bogey 8 on No. 1 Friday morning. While this is not yet the most ignoble departure by a former champion, he is in the running.
Nine defending Masters champions have failed to make the cut and Willett, who was 6 over when he made the turn in 41, has to inflict a lot more damage if he is to equal the worst score by a reigning champ. That honor belongs to Nick Faldo, who was 12 over in 1997 when he missed the cut.
Other reigning champions who did not see the weekend include some surprising names: Jack Nicklaus (1967), Tommy Aaron (1974), Seve Ballesteros (1981, 1984), Sandy Lyle (1989), Ben Crenshaw (1996), Jose Maria Olazabal (2000) and Mike Weir (2004). A 10th champion, Art Wall, had to withdraw from the 1960 Masters due to a knee injury.
Willett was in trouble on Friday with his first swing. His drive avoided a fairway bunker on the right but his lie was so close to the trap’s edge that Willett’s stance teetered on the rim of the hazard. He lost his balance on impact, shanking the ball deep into the woods further right.
He punched out through the green, where things got worse. His first pitch did not reach the flat of the green and rolled back off. His second was so strong, it rolled well past the hole and off the front side of the green. He finally held the putting surface with a third pitch and two-putted from 6 feet.
His 8 marked the second-highest score on No. 1 in Masters history. Ernie Els set the record last year with a 9, when he six-putted from two feet.
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