Danny Willett and Tommy Fleetwood give boost to hopes of a 'British charge' with Augusta...

[ASFN Admin]

It has been a lean century for the British contingent at the Masters. Since Nick Faldo’s third green jacket in 1996, only Danny Willett’s shock victory in 2016 has bucked the trend of agonising near-misses and disappointing flops. Could this be the year the infamous ‘British charge’ materialises into something more tangible and lasting? Maybe it could. After Paul Casey’s opening day heroics, it was the turn of Willett and Tommy Fleetwood to light up Augusta on Friday. Both Englishmen carded brilliant six-under-par 66s, to lie seven under for the tournament and right in contention. With Justin Rose also on -7 after a two-under-par 70 and Lee Westwood also going along nicely as play drew to a close on Friday evening, there appears to be no shortage of British candidates well placed to make a run heading this weekend. Rose, of course, has been responsible for two of those agonising near misses, finishing in a tie for second place in 2015 and then runner-up to Sergio Garcia in that nail-biting sudden death playoff two years later. Willett’s return to form, after a period he still refers to as his “dark times”, is particularly heartening. The 33 year-old’s long and winding road into the golfing wilderness after winning his green jacket in 2016 is well established.

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