The Open: Danny Willett in good spirits after opening 69 at Carnoustie
Thursday 19 July 2018 13:30, UK
Danny Willett declared he was enjoying his golf again after a "dark" period in his career as he reflected on a solid two-under 69 at The 147th Open.
Willett endured a dramatic slump in form and battled numerous injuries following his memorable Masters triumph in 2016, and he tumbled as low as 462nd in the world rankings having been inside the top 10 after his win at Augusta National.
But the Englishman has been trending back in the right direction in recent weeks, with top-10 finishes in Italy and Ireland boosting his confidence heading into The Open at Carnoustie.
Willett, who teed off in the third group of the day at 6:57am, was annoyed with a bogey at the first before he hit back with three straight birdies from the fourth, and further gains at 10 and 14 lifted him into a share of the lead on four under.
However, he was one of many to find trouble over the intimidating final two holes, and a five-five finish saw him slide three strokes behind early clubhouse-leader Kevin Kisner.
"I'm pretty hopeful we'll never be as dark playing as we were," he said. "But this is a strange, odd game. You get ebbs and flows and hit a low point, but I've really enjoyed golf for the last six, seven weeks.
"That kind of leads you to work a little bit harder, even if it's just an extra half an hour putting and an extra half an hour hitting balls, whatever it may be. And the little sessions you're able to do for a bit longer because your body is better and just enables you to gain a little more than you ordinarily would have.
"And then to be able to go home and obviously not have to go through treatment and stuff and do everything. Yeah, it's nice. Regardless of what the golf is and how the golf is, it's a lot better place to be."
Willett insisted he had no problem with the early start, and added: "I played some real solid golf there. I know the conditions are as simple as what anyone could really ask for out at Carnoustie. Some funky little flags out there, and the wind was flicking around a little bit. For the main part, you're going to see pretty good scoring.
"But it was good, and there were a lot of 12, 15 footers as well that just slid by so it could have been a really, really nice knock. At the end of the day it wasn't so, but take the four days and see where it puts you."
Fellow Englishman Matthew Southgate, who was out in game two, also opened with a 69 in which he bounced back from consecutive bogeys at 12 and 13 with a superb eagle at 14 having also carded a three at the long sixth earlier.
"The first few holes I felt a bit like a zombie, which I think is quite normal when you wake up at 4:00 in the morning to play golf," he said. "After that, we sort of sprung to life with an eagle on the sixth and started playing really nice stuff after that. It's demanding out there. I don't think too many people are going to go round without making a couple of mistakes.
"I think it's very easy for spectators to watch and just take for granted how tough this golf course is. We're hitting irons off the tee to miss bunkers, but if you get it slightly wrong, you're right in the face of the bunker or in the rough with no second shot.
"It demands a lot out of your game. So anything in the 60s is fantastic, I think."
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