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Whilst 2020 was a universally awful year for most of the population, Danny Willett can present a pretty strong case for 2021 being his own personal annus horribilis.
The 2016 Masters champion updated his social media followers on his latest travails from a hospital bed after undergoing emergency surgery .
Willett, 33, was admitted to hospital after being kept awake “most of Saturday night” with a pain that “turned out to be appendicitis”. To his credit, despite his discomfort, he was still able to complete the Memorial Tournament, closing with a 73 to finish in a tie for 26th, before presumably getting checked over by docs.
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Reassuring his fans that the op “went well”, the Englishman added that he also had a hernia removed.
This latest drama continues a grim 2021 for Willett, who tested positive for COVID-19 in March and also had to have a wisdom tooth removed in April.
“All in all, it’s been a great year,” he joked.
So the pain that kept me awake most of Saturday night turned out to be appendicitis! Operation went well, also removed a hernia, add it to having Covid in March, wisdom tooth out in April…all in all, been a great year! 👍🏼🤣 pic.twitter.com/dewndALPWQ
— Danny Willett (@Danny_Willett) June 8, 2021
His troubles are reflected in his world ranking. Having started the year 67th on the Official World Golf Ranking, he has slipped to 95th.
He has been restricted to just nine appearances on the PGA Tour since the turn of the year, with a best finish of eighth at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship.
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A member of the last European team to contest the Ryder Cup on American soil back in 2016, he is currently just outside the automatic qualifying places for this year’s match at Whistling Straits. He ranks 12th on the European Points List (top four to qualify) and 13th on the World Points List (top five not already qualified through the European Points List qualify).
However, if the old adage is correct, and bad luck comes in threes, then hopefully Willett will now be able to demonstrate the veracity of another cliché: beware the injured golfer.
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