Picture Gallery: Willett displays to wider audience the strength and zest of his game

WE have known about the prodigious talent of Danny Willett for quite some time in these parts.

A Yorkshire Amateur champion not so long ago, a pivotal member of a successful Sheffield Union team in the county league, and a serial winner of junior and senior tournaments at Rotherham Golf Club for many a year.

He was also the world's leading amateur before turning professional, and part of the 2007 Walker Cup team that can take credit for shaping the future of British and Irish golf for the next generation.

Rory McIlroy emerged from that team as the standard bearer, having already announced his arrival as the next big British hope at the Open at Carnoustie earlier that summer.

Click the green PLAY button to watch a slideshow of the action from Wentworth >>

As the Ulsterman continues to impress with performances and victories that suggest he can live up to that billing, Willett has quietly gone about building his own career, collecting top-10s consistently around the world on the ever-expanding European Tour, from Morocco to Malaysia.

And now at last the rest of the national golf-watching public know about the 22-year-old thanks to his sterling performance at Wentworth over the previous four days, and the exposure his play has received courtesy of the BBC cameras.

From his blistering opening round 65 on the redesigned West course on Thursday, to the 20-foot birdie putt he fizzed into the 72nd hole last night that secured him fifth place and prize money of E190,000 (164,823), Willett has been at the sharp end of the European Tour's flagship event from start to finish.

"I've had good coverage this week with the tournament being in England, being on television and with a lot of people coming down from Yorkshire to cheer me on," Willett told the Yorkshire Post last night, before heading off to prepare for US Open qualifying at Walton Heath today.

"I've got my name out there this week, and it's been a great experience for me."

The prize money is the biggest of his career, dwarfing his previous best of E95,000 earned last year at Celtic Manor, and almost certainly guarantees him his card for a third season in 2011.

The new Race to Dubai rankings this morning will reveal that he has strengthened his position in the top 25, with the top 100 in the world level – which opens a number of doors to the bigger events – also beckoning. He began the week ranked No 128.

Willett led the likes of Ryder Cup stars Luke Donald and Robert Karlsson yesterday as he approached the turn, the opportunity of his maiden win coming at the country's biggest tournament outside the Open growing ever more likely.

He never wavered in his aggressive approach, attacking pins and booming drives down the lush Surrey fairways as he attempted to conquer a perilous course rather than allow it to punish any hesitancy.

"Yes, I looked at the leaderboards," said Willett.

"Everybody does, because you need to know if you have to go for a shot or if you can play that little bit safer.

"I was on top at one stage and it was good to see my name up there.

"I never got flustered or felt pressured – I've been in a good place all weekend."

Willett hit 12 of 14 fairways and required only 25 putts yesterday, although it will be his inconsistency when approaching the green that he will be working on with York-based coach Graham Walker ahead of this week's Celtic Manor Wales Open.

That is typical of a golfer who is hungry for success and has been eager to make his mark ever since first picking up a club.

Born in Sheffield, Willett learned his golf at the Rotherham club in Thrybergh.

His rapid rise up the junior and senior amateur ranks culminated in a marvellous 2007 when he won the Yorkshire Amateur at Moortown, the English title at Royal St George's and played in the Walker Cup.

After climbing to the top step of the amateur game, Willett risked it all by turning professional following encouraging finishes among the paid ranks of the European Tour.

He made an immediate impact by breezing through what is commonly regarded as a gruelling Tour School and registered eight top-10s in his debut year in 2009, finishing 58th on the money list which qualified him for the lucrative season-ending Dubai World Championship.

Willett's efforts yesterday finally showed a wider audience his accuracy and strength off the tee and his finesse around the greens.

That wise old sage Peter Alliss offered a few words of advice to Willett last night from the BBC commentary box, suggesting he temper his aggression to allow him to make calmer decisions in the heat of battle.

The advice will be heeded from a talented Yorkshireman who is at last gaining the recognition he deserves.

Willett on the rise

2007 – Willett wins Yorkshire Amateur and the English Amateur titles and represents Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup.

2008 – After spending 12 weeks as the world's No 1 ranked amateur, and following a 10th-place finish at the Spanish Open, he turns professional, and breezes through the European Tour's qualifying school.

2009 - Records eight top-10 finishes in his debut year, including a run of four in six events, to finish 58th on Order of Merit, and become one of only three rookies to qualify for season-ending Dubai World Championship.

2010 - Top 10s in Malaysia and Morocco are followed by a fifth-place finish at Wentworth and his biggest European Tour prize to date.