In case you're wondering, he hasn't. Danny Willett didn't pack the green jacket into his suitcase for this trip, his first on European soil as the Masters champion.
“It’s one of them where you don’t want to take it and forget it in the hotel room or something like that. That wouldn’t be great. I would not like to e mail chairman Payne asking can I have another one.”
As for putting his signature on Masters flags? “I have nightmares about that yellow flag and signing it,” he quipped, adding: “But, yeah, it’s all good.”
If Willett’s hand is getting writer’s cramp from scribbling his name onto literally anything that moves, it’s because he’s a wanted man.
And the bonus to the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in having the reigning Masters champion in the field – for the first time since Jose Maria Olazabal teed up at Mount Juliet in 1994 – has certainly added lustre to this €4 million tournament even if his only previous knowledge of the K Club dates back to watching the 2006 Ryder Cup on television and seeing video reruns since arriving here.
Playing in the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine is already an achieved target for Willett, who has copperfastened his place in Darren Clarke’s team for September. He actually attended two dinners in Florida last week – one for likely team members, the other for possible rookie members – as one of those who will definitely feature in the team.
That’s then, this is now.
And the focus is on the Irish Open, another title to be won. Willett missed the cut at The Players – “didn’t quite go as planned,” he said – and he is aware that his status as a new Major champion bring s with it increased expectations from others.
"I think the public's hyped up a little bit and think that because you won that particular golf tournament that you go win every week. But we all know that's a ridiculous thing to think. I think even Jason Day, the last 12 months, has been, what, seven wins in 17 which is still under 40 percent and he's currently the best player in the world statistically.
Prepare well
“I think Tiger’s winning percentage was 30-odd when he was at his best. So it’s one of them, isn’t it, where you try not to put too much pressure on yourself because you realise how hard it is to actually win at this game with 156 guys every week – any one of them can win.
“Like I said, you try to tick your boxes day to day and try to prepare well for each event and try and make sure you’re physically fit and well rested to give yourself the best chance. If you hit good golf shots and roll a few putts, hopefully come Sunday you have a good chance.”
One thing’s for sure, and that’s that Willett – now ranked ninth in the world – has moved up to a different level and he appreciates that earning a Masters, as he puts it, “classifies as a fantastic career”.
“There’s only four Majors a year, and you know, you’ve got, I don’t know, a 25-year career if you keep fit and play well. So you’ve got a hundred chances to win one of the Majors against the best field in golf. So if you look at it, percentage wise, there’s very little chance you can do it, especially given the fields you play against. I just feel very fortunate, that not the first time,but the second time I’ve been in contention in a Major, I was able to polish it off.”
