Willett returns to his happy hunting ground

Having acquired a knack for top-10 finishes in his first two seasons on Tour – 15 to be precise – Willett’s name suddenly became synonymous with the middle of the pack during a frustrating 2011 campaign.

But in the very first round of the new season at the South African Open yesterday he found himself back in the welcome company of tournament leaders.

Willett fired a six-under-par 67 yesterday morning to sit fourth on the leaderboard, a position that altered only slightly as the afternoon starters posted their scores around the East Africa course.

The 24-year-old finished the day seventh, still three shots adrift of the lead held by his fellow morning starter Thomas Aiken.

South Africa is a happy hunting ground for Willett and perhaps the perfect place for him to regain the good vibes that deserted him last year.

The Joburg Open, where the European Tour moves to next week, is the sight of two successive fourth-place finishes for the Rotherham Golf Club member in 2009 and 2010.

Willett was not the only one of the six Yorkshire golfers in action this week satisfied with his opening play.

Harrogate’s John Parry – whose Tour schedule has been limited this year due to his failure to finish inside last year’s top 115 on the Race to Dubai – shot a two-under-par 71.

It was a score matched by Sheffield-born Sunshine Tour regular Neil Cheetham, while Boothferry club professional Paul Bradshaw can be very pleased with his one-under 72.

Danny Denison also shot a 72, although as a man who is now looking to earn a living in Europe’s top bracket, he will be mindful that on such a low-scoring course, that may not be enough to qualify for the weekend. The 26-year-old is outside the cut mark and will need a score in the 60s today.

Hull’s Richard Finch has his work cut out to make the weekend after an opening 76.

Aiken, Retief Goosen and Jaco Ahlers gave the home crowds plenty to cheer. Aiken carded a super first round of 64, nine under par, to set the clubhouse target, one shot ahead of double US Open champion Goosen and Ahlers who fired rounds of 65.

Defending champion Louis Oosthuizen fired a solid four-under-par 69.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland is set to stage a professional golf tournament once again following the remarkable success of the region’s golfers.

Royal Portrush Golf Club on the scenic Causeway coast will be unveiled today as the new home of the Irish Open.

The decision to move the European Tour event north from Killarney, Co Kerry, in the Irish Republic comes on the back of the achievements of Northern Ireland’s three major winners in the last two years.

Darren Clarke’s emotional victory in the Open at Sandwich in Kent last summer followed the successive US Open victories of Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy. All three players – McDowell and Clarke have homes in Portrush – backed the bid to bring the Irish Open to the town’s famous links course.

It is hoped that a successful staging of the Irish Open this June will add further momentum to the campaign to take the Open itself back to Northern Ireland. The Open has only been staged in the region once, at Royal Portrush in 1951.

But the three major wins by local golfers prompted a clamour for a return and heaped pressure on governing body the Royal and Ancient (R&A) to take the tournament across the Irish Sea.

After Clarke’s win last year, R&A chief executive Peter Dawson pledged to look again at the issue.

The European Tour’s end-of-season bonus pool is being cut in half from £4.8m to £2.4m, with 10 rather than 15 players being given an extra reward for their year’s work.