Smart play from caddie vital to Danny Willett on final tee, says Yorkshire president

YORKSHIRE Union of Golf Clubs' president Jonathan Plaxton has praised caddie Jonathan Smart for his role in Danny Willett's Masters victory.
Danny Willett discusses a tee shot with his caddie Jonathan Smart during last year's Open at St Andrews (Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire).Danny Willett discusses a tee shot with his caddie Jonathan Smart during last year's Open at St Andrews (Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire).
Danny Willett discusses a tee shot with his caddie Jonathan Smart during last year's Open at St Andrews (Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire).

Smart, like his employer Willett, is a former Yorkshire Boys player.

“I do not know Danny’s caddie Jonathan personally, but I thought he did a fantastic job,” said Plaxton, himself a former Yorkshire champion.

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“He was particularly important on the 18th tee on Sunday. Danny had backed off a couple of times as they discussed the distance to the bunker, but then he was made to back off it again by Jonathan.

“He said, ‘sorry Dan’ and Danny said, ‘no, it’s alright mate’ and then they started through their routine again.

“There was obviously something going on at the edge of the tee that Jonathan had seen that might have disturbed Danny.”

Plaxton believes it illustrated perfectly the relationship 28-year-old Willett has with his caddie, one of complete trust and mutual respect.

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“Getting Danny to back off a third time was the sort of thing someone who does not know what they’re doing wouldn’t have dared do,” he said.

“I don’t know how experienced Jonathan is as a caddie, but he can’t have been in that position before and he did brilliantly.”

Plaxton says Willett was ultimately rewarded for not giving up when others appeared to have thrown in the towel after defending champion Jordan Spieth had moved clear.

“I might be being a bit unkind, and bearing in mind Rory McIlroy had a bad third round anyway, but I got the distinct impression that McIlroy and one or two others conceded it almost to Spieth,” he added.

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“Instead of continuing to do the job, and then possibly being in a position to capitalise, they almost waved the white flag and I think it left a few of them playing for second place.

“Those that stuck to the task were the only ones in a position to capitalise, and that was Danny, Lee Westwood and Dustin Johnson – and, of course, at the end there was only Danny who actually converted it.”

Plaxton says the union will take time to consider ways of commemorating the success of Willett, a former county player who came up from the Yorkshire Boys team to become world No 1 amateur and then major champion, adding “but knowing Danny, I think he would want it to be something that will help future generations”.

He says there is understandable excitement throughout the county at Sunday’s achievement by Willett.

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“It is a member of the Yorkshire family who has won so that is why I think the whole of Yorkshire has got that feel-good factor in the golfing world,” he said. “It is like living in a city that has got a Premier League football team that has just won the European Cup.”