The 2016 Masters winner, who turns 34 today, started the final round on the Old Course at St Andrews with a three-stroke lead and remained at the top of the leaderboard throughout the day, making the turn in three under par.
His fifth birdie of the day followed on the tenth hole and he parred his way home to sign for a four under 68, a two-stroke victory, and his first win since the 2019 BMW PGA Championship.
Two-time Alfred Dunhill Links Championship winner Tyrrell Hatton recorded his second runner-up finish at the event in the space of three years on 16 under par, joined on that number by Joakim Lagergren. The Swede finished inside the top four for the fourth time in just six starts in the popular Pro-Am tournament.
Sharing fourth were last week’s Ryder Cup debutant Shane Lowry and Betfred British Masters champion Richard Bland.
Northern Irishman Michael Hoey, who won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2011, and his amateur partner Maeve Danaher took the team honours, with Danaher becoming the first woman to add her name to the Team Championship roll of honour. The pair recorded a team score of 36 under par, beating Australian cricket star Shane Warne and New Zealander Ryan Fox, who were tied on the same score, thanks to Hoey’s eight under par tournament total.
Player Quotes
Danny Willett: “To win here, to be British and to be able to win on British soil, to win at the Home of Golf, this is a very special one. Especially after how the last year and a half has been for everyone involved. It’s a really nice way to kind of kick on a little bit for these last couple of months of the season.
“It’s an interesting golf course. It gives you ways out. If you are nervous, you aim down the left on any hole you want. If you’re out of position a little bit too much, you can’t get to a few of the flags.
“It was nice to step up on a few of them ones on that back nine and put them in A-1 position. Yeah, I was swinging it well. Great format, and I’m concentrating just as much on Jimmy (Dunne) as I am on myself, trying to make sure me and Jimmy have a great week, and I think that helps things as well.
“I’ve played The Open here, I played with Zach Johnson, actually, when Zach won, and we finished sixth that year. I like the golf course. I enjoy the setup for The Open.
“This week, I’ve not done that great because usually the scoring is low and the weather has not been as bad; this week the scoring was low and the weather was still pretty bad. So, we just played some good golf and got in nice position.”
Michael Hoey: “The putt on the last there, I knew there was a bit of money on it, and I’m trying not to think about money. Didn’t play unbelievable today but kept it pretty solid because this can pay for my season. And it’s quite a big thing.
“I’m glad a made a good stroke, but it was more about the team as well, to not let Maeve down on the last, to contribute, because we have a chance to win it. So, there was a few things going on 18.
“Maeve was brilliant to play with. She was great company. She came in, dovetailed well. Got lucky, really, came into the right holes, both of us. She’s swinging it really well. Keeping it really tidy. It’s just a real bonus to have her in this tournament.”
Final Scores
270 D WILLETT (ENG) 67 69 66 68,
272 J LAGERGREN (SWE) 67 72 67 66, T HATTON (ENG) 64 70 71 67,
273 S LOWRY (IRL) 71 67 67 68, R BLAND (ENG) 69 72 64 68,
274 D GAVINS (ENG) 67 68 71 68,
275 D BURMESTER (RSA) 70 69 71 65, T FLEETWOOD (ENG) 66 71 71 67,
276 K BROBERG (SWE) 71 71 69 65, M SCHMID (GER) 71 68 70 67, J MURPHY (IRL) 69 69 67 71,
277 A NOREN (SWE) 70 68 70 69, M PAVON (FRA) 68 70 70 69,
278 H LI (CHN) 64 72 74 68, N H?JGAARD (DEN) 70 68 71 69, J WINTHER (DEN) 66 71 69 72,
279 C HILL (SCO) 73 69 70 67, G MIGLIOZZI (ITA) 68 72 71 68, J CAMPILLO (ESP) 70 73 69 67, Y CHANG (KOR) 67 73 72 67, E PEPPERELL (ENG) 68 71 71 69, R RAMSAY (SCO) 67 72 70 70, E FERGUSON (SCO) 65 73 69 72,
280 M HOEY (NIR) 65 75 71 69, T AIKEN (RSA) 69 72 71 68, A ARNAUS (ESP) 64 76 67 73,
281 B GRACE (RSA) 70 74 67 70, L DONALD (ENG) 72 72 68 69, A QUIROS (ESP) 68 74 69 70, M DAFFUE (RSA) 70 74 69 68, N COLSAERTS (BEL) 64 75 71 71, A OTAEGUI (ESP) 67 73 70 71, G FORREST (SCO) 73 73 67 68, D LAWSON (AUS) 70 68 70 73, T MERRITT (USA) 67 73 74 67,
282 B HORSCHEL (USA) 69 73 68 72, J SURI (USA) 69 73 71 69, W NIENABER (RSA) 71 70 68 73,
283 S SODERBERG (SWE) 68 74 69 72, T PIETERS (BEL) 72 70 71 70, C SHINKWIN (ENG) 72 72 66 73, R ENOCH (WAL) 72 69 72 70, S GALLACHER (SCO) 71 68 75 69, D HORSEY (ENG) 73 69 72 69,
284 M SIEM (GER) 71 71 71 71, A BJ?RK (SWE) 74 69 70 71, B JONES (ENG) 70 72 71 71, T LEWIS (ENG) 68 75 70 71, M KAYMER (GER) 69 72 73 70, B HEBERT (FRA) 74 72 68 70,
285 L BJERREGAARD (DEN) 70 70 72 73, M ARMITAGE (ENG) 69 75 70 71, B RANKIN (AUS) 71 72 71 71,
286 J HARDING (RSA) 69 75 70 72, J CATLIN (USA) 68 72 74 72, R FOX (NZL) 75 71 68 72, A SULLIVAN (ENG) 73 72 69 72,
287 M LEE (AUS) 71 73 70 73,
288 D DRYSDALE (SCO) 71 72 70 75,
289 O FISHER (ENG) 68 70 76 75,
*
215 R FISHER (ENG) 74 71 70, S BROWN (ENG) 69 76 70, R LANGASQUE (FRA) 65 76 74, J LONG (ENG) 74 69 72, Z LOMBARD (RSA) 70 76 69, O WILSON (ENG) 69 74 72, L CANTER (ENG) 67 73 75, R MCEVOY (ENG) 72 72 71, G COETZEE (RSA) 71 74 70, M JORDAN (ENG) 72 75 68, M LORENZO-VERA (FRA) 71 75 69,
216 V PEREZ (FRA) 71 73 72, P DUNNE (IRL) 67 75 74, B MACPHERSON (AUS) 73 71 72, J SENIOR (ENG) 68 75 73, B STONE (RSA) 69 74 73, S SHARMA (IND) 70 78 68, L GAGLI (ITA) 70 73 73, J GUERRIER (FRA) 70 74 72, K SAMOOJA (FIN) 75 69 72, T OLESEN (DEN) 72 74 70, M MEISSNER (USA) 72 71 73, A LEVY (FRA) 67 76 73, C SYME (SCO) 71 75 70, R MACINTYRE (SCO) 69 77 70,
217 J SMITH (ENG) 70 73 74, S HORSFIELD (ENG) 69 75 73, S KJELDSEN (DEN) 71 74 72, J STALTER (FRA) 70 73 74, R JACQUELIN (FRA) 71 74 72, M SOUTHGATE (ENG) 70 73 74, R PARATORE (ITA) 70 68 79, J VEERMAN (USA) 69 76 72,
218 N SCHIETEKAT (RSA) 73 76 69, M KAWAMURA (JPN) 70 75 73, M ANTCLIFF (AUS) 68 78 72, J WALTERS (RSA) 71 72 75, J JANEWATTANANOND (THA) 66 83 69, A CA?IZARES (ESP) 71 75 72, R CABRERA BELLO (ESP) 68 73 77, A ROZNER (FRA) 72 72 74,
219 R MCGOWAN (ENG) 71 71 77, A MERONK (POL) 74 74 71, C PAISLEY (ENG) 70 73 76, W BESSELING (NED) 68 78 73, P HARRINGTON (IRL) 75 75 69, N ELVIRA (ESP) 73 72 74, S V?LIM?KI (FIN) 71 73 75, J KRUYSWIJK (RSA) 73 73 73, M WARREN (SCO) 73 71 75, N BERTASIO (ITA) 67 74 78,
220 T LEE (KOR) 73 75 72, J HANSEN (DEN) 72 72 76, M LAMB (ENG) 71 73 76, D LAW (SCO) 68 76 76, T DETRY (BEL) 72 74 74, E MOLINARI (ITA) 72 75 73, T PULKKANEN (FIN) 75 75 70, M KIEFFER (GER) 72 75 73, H PORTEOUS (RSA) 69 77 74, C WOOD (ENG) 74 73 73, L DE JAGER (RSA) 70 76 74,
221 R ROUSSEL (FRA) 77 71 73, P HANSON (SWE) 78 69 74, J GEARY (NZL) 70 78 73, B SCHMIDT (ENG) 72 73 76, T SMYTH (AUS) 72 75 74, S HEND (AUS) 69 72 80, J LUITEN (NED) 68 82 71, S TARRIO (ESP) 73 74 74, J AHLERS (RSA) 72 76 73,
222 A FLANAGAN (ENG) 70 77 75, D FICHARDT (RSA) 71 75 76, R ROCK (ENG) 71 79 72, J SCRIVENER (AUS) 74 73 75, P WARING (ENG) 71 77 74, S JAMIESON (SCO) 77 69 76, T LAWRENCE (RSA) 72 76 74,
223 B HENSON (USA) 67 77 79, D VAN TONDER (RSA) 70 76 77, D IEREMIA (NZL) 76 75 72,
224 P LARRAZ?BAL (ESP) 69 77 78, G STORM (ENG) 73 74 77, A SANDHU (IND) 71 77 76, J BALLESTEROS (ESP) 74 74 76, V DUBUISSON (FRA) 72 74 78,
225 J MORRISON (ENG) 71 75 79, M KINHULT (SWE) 75 75 75, C SHARVIN (NIR) 75 72 78,
226 J DYER (ENG) 74 77 75,
227 F LAPORTA (ITA) 77 72 78,
228 R SANTOS (POR) 72 78 78, A CHESTERS (ENG) 72 78 78, J CALDWELL (NIR) 72 81 75,
229 V NORRMAN (SWE) 77 76 76, D PAPADATOS (AUS) 70 78 81,
230 G GREEN (MAS) 69 77 84,
231 M ROHWER (RSA) 75 80 76, S YONGCHAROENCHAI (THA) 77 78 76,
233 T THIMBA JNR (RSA) 78 77 78, R CHRYSTIE (ENG) 78 76 79,
234 D HOWELL (ENG) 76 79 79,
235 R CONRADIE (RSA) 79 78 78,
237 T BJ?RN (DEN) 76 87 74, A PAVAN (ITA) 74 84 79,
238 A DA SILVA (BRA) 78 80 80,
