Famous five join forces on European journey

The 27-year-old from Sheffield has been the region’s most consistent player, ends the season as the White Rose’s highest-placed golfer on the world rankings and earned more than anyone after breaking through the £1m barrier in Dubai last week.

Willett was also the fifth highest Englishman on the order of merit, finishing above former world No 1s Lee Westwood and Luke Donald among others.

Yet, encouragingly, his is one of a handful of success stories by the county’s leading professionals.

Simon Dyson finished 16 places below Willett on the ‘Race to Dubai’ standings, and would be in line for a comeback player of the year accolade – were we to have one – after the disqualification episode last October when his honour and integrity were called into question.

Richard Finch would run him close for that gong, having lost his card 12 months ago only to win it back almost immediately by making full use of sponsors’ invites last December to all-but reclaim his card for the 2015 season.

Matt Fitzpatrick waltzed away with the fictional Yorkshire player of the year award last year for the hatful of achievements he racked up in a golden summer in the amateur ranks.

But even by his own admission, the feat he accomplished last week was as big as any that had gone before, including the silver medal for being leading amateur at the US Open in June.

His decision to turn professional the following day was vindicated last week when he successfully negotiated the gruelling six-round marathon of qualifying school’s final stage, to secure playing privileges on next year’s tour.

“I’ve never felt like this,” said the former US Amateur champion.

“It’s daft in a way as it’s not a win, but it feels like one in a way, as it is what everyone is trying to do at the start of the week, just get their card and go for it.”

Fitzpatrick was one of 27 players to emerge from Q School with their future intact, with county compatriot John Parry among that number.

Last week at PGA Catalunya was the third time Harrogate’s Parry, 27, has had to go to qualifying school and the third time he has progressed.

It is widely regarded as the hardest examination in golf, because if you fail there is nowhere to go next week, which is ordinarily the fallback for players on the Tour who move from tournament to tournament.

Parry finished sixth last week, ironically his lowest finish at an event he won two years ago.

Parry has endured a nightmare year on the European Tour. He made just five cuts, changed coaches twice and barely earned enough to jet him around the globe from event to event.

Airport departure lounges on Friday evenings became a second home as he found himself trapped in the vicious cycle that is failing to make the grade at the top level.

He missed 21 cuts in a row from December to September, during which time he spent a period under the tutelage of Yorkshire-based coach Graham Waker before returning to his long-time childhood mentor, Mark Moore.

In July, Parry changed again to Hugh Marr because he wanted a coach with more presence at events. It prompted a moderate upturn in fortunes, with Parry making four cuts in his last seven tournaments of the season, without ever troubling a leaderboard.

Through it all, he continued to keep up a strict fitness regime with conditioning coach and former golf professional Rob Hobkinson, and when it came to returning to qualifying school to try and save a horrendous season, he rediscovered his form.

The people closest to him say Parry is the type to thrive in the pressure-cooker environment of qualifying school, that he remains mentally strong whether he is playing well or scoring poorly. Having regained his card, Parry sets out on a fourth spell on the European Tour on December 11 at the opening tournament of 2015, the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa.

The success of Parry and Fitzpatrick last week means there are now five Yorkshireman on the European Tour next season. With 33 Englishmen holding a similar category or higher, the White Rose accounts for 15 per cent of the country’s representation.

With another leading amateur in Huddersfield’s Nick Marsh, 19, looking to follow in the footsteps of Willett and Fitzpatrick by one day making the step up after his victory in the English Amateur Championship this summer, the future remains bright for White Rose golf, and the fight for that coveted title of golfer of the year, as intense as ever.