WILLETT ADDS SPANISH TITLE TO HIS ENGLISH CROWN
 Daniel
Willett (pictured left - photo courtesy of Tom Ward) added
the Spanish Amateur crown to his English, South of England
and Yorkshire titles when he beat Spain’s Jordi Garcia
Pinto 5 and 3 in the 36-hole final at Pals.
Willett’s victory means the Spanish title resides in
England for a third successive year after similar triumphs
by Sam Hutsby and fellow Yorkshireman John Parry.
Having won the South of England and English titles in successive
weeks last summer before making his Walker Cup debut, Willett
cut short his scholarship in Alabama last year to concentrate
on his golf at home and it’s paying off.
After qualifying 12th of the leading 32 players following
the 36-hole stroke play competition, Willett was not taken
the full distance by any of his five opponents in winning
the title.
He began with an 8 and 7 success and after two close matches,
cruised through his semi-final 6 and 5 over Frenchman Johann
Lopez Lazaro.
Pinto’s passage to the final included successive wins
over England’s Chris Wood, Ed Richardson and Eddie Pepperell
in the semi-final.
Willett got off to a flier in the final with birdies at two
of the opening three holes to go 2up. He was back on terms
after five and one behind two holes later.
But a birdie-three at the 13th followed by more birdies at
the 15th and 16th saw him into lunch 2up again, Willett going
round in an approximate four-under-par 69 to Pinto‘s
71.
Although he lost the opening hole to a Pinto birdie in the
afternoon, the 20 year old from Rotherham took the second,
third and fifth holes, the latter two with birdies, to be
4up and although he lost the short sixth to a par, a birdie-two
at the 11th restored his advantage and the end came with a
winning par at the short 15th.
Overall Willett ran in ten birdies in 33 holes and was seven
under par when he shook hands with Pinto, a member of the
Spanish team beaten by England at Royal Ashdown Forest last
May.
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