Dubai: Danny Willett hopes his Omega Dubai Desert Classic win will enable him to go one better in this year’s Race to Dubai after just missing out to Rory McIlroy last season.
The 28-year-old Englishman came into the final event of last year’s European Tour – the DP World Tour Championship - needing to beat McIlroy in order to claim Europe’s number one spot. However, the Northern Irishman won and Willett finished eight strokes back at tied for fourth at Jumeirah Golf Estates in November.
Fast forward two months though, and it was Willett getting the upper hand over McIlroy at Emirates Golf Club on Sunday, with victory in the Desert Classic taking him up to third in the Race to Dubai behind Henrik Stenson and Branden Grace.
“It’s still early days to talk about the Race to Dubai, but yes, we’ve certainly put ourselves nicely up there to fight for the top again,” said Willett.
“I think once you get the feel of how it was last year and how it felt to be in and around it, you know, all week in Dubai and how it felt not to pull it off, yeah, it would be good.
“To be in and around top-10 all year and give yourself a chance to win the Order of Merit is brilliant.
“There can only be one winner every year. It just shows the consistency that you’ve done all throughout the year. Hopefully we can get back up somewhere near.”
What with Willett in contention at the DP World Tour Championship and now winning the Desert Classic - as well as fellow Englishman Andy Sullivan finishing second in both events - Willett said that English and European golf was strong ahead of this year’s Ryder Cup.
“You just get those veins of players, don’t you?” he said. “Paul Casey and Luke Donald had similar years. And obviously my era, in terms of myself, Andy Sullivan, Chris Wood and Matt Fitzgerald, who is a bit younger.
“I think that the England lads, they are kind of just feeding off each other. You look at the likes of Sully, Woody, myself and Fitzy in the EurAsia Cup, it was good fun to be in and around, having a good craic and a good bit of banter with the lads. I think for the next few years, we’re going to be the ones that are trying to beat each other.
“European golf is strong. It’s young but it’s really strong. I think you saw that in the EurAsia Cup; that you had a really thirsty group of lads there. I think the Americans have gone through that already, that phase, and you’ve got Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth and everyone there.
“I think we are kind of going through that transition now, and I just think that the likes of myself and the young British lads are just going to keep progressing and I can see it being very competitive for the next few years.”
