Danny Willett receives the Green Jacket from Jordan Spieth with Augusta National Golf Club chairman Billy Payne (right) after the Yorkshireman won th 2016 Masters.

DANNY Willett’s Green Jacket will always take pride of place in his locker, but an England team blazer remains dear to his heart.

In fact, the 2016 Masters champion rates playing as an amateur in the Home Internationals for England as his favourite team golf experience.

But given his experiences as a member of Darren Clarke’s team at the 2016 Ryder Cup, when he was at the centre of a media storm created by a magazine interview given by his brother, that might not be such a surprise.

But there were several more surprises in a wide-ranging, open and honest online Q&A session, which Willett conducted with England Golf coaches and players.

Willett was the toast of world golf four years ago when he came from three shots back.

He carded a brilliant final round 67 to win the Masters by three shots from defending champion Jordan Spieth and Lee Westwood.

To date, it remains the greatest achievement of the Yorkshireman’s career although his first victory on home soil – in last year’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth – was another major milestone.

And it was a hot topic for discussion during another lively webchat hosted by England performance director Nigel Edwards.

Willett, Lowry, McIlroy, Wood and Edwards featured in elite contests

BOTH Willett and Edwards share more than an England Golf connection.

In 2007, they were part of the GB&I Walker Cup squad – also featuring Rory McIlroy – which narrowly lost out to a star-studded American side including Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson and Webb Simpson, at Royal County Down.

The pair were also in the same European team that won the Michael Bonnallack Trophy in 2008, beating Asia- Pacific at Valderrama, alongside Gloucestershire’s future Ryder Cup player Chris Wood, and last year’s Open Champion Shane Lowry.

Willett – currently based in Florida’s Isleworth, as he waits for the tours to start on both sides of the pond – talked through his amazing work ethic, his attention to detail and the processes he has followed all his career.

And he recalled with fondness an amateur career during which he won the Australian Strokeplay, the Spanish Amateur and English Amateur en route to becoming No. 1 on the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

Willett said: “I loved everything about team golf with England when you had a group of guys taking on Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

“You maybe had 40-50 of the best players from the UK there and you were trying to impress for Walker Cup places and Jacques Leglise teams.

“You wanted to beat everyone, you certainly didn’t want to lose to a rival country. But there was still a great camaraderie.

“Yorkshire normally had quite a good bunch and we were well represented.

“But you caught up with people you hadn’t seen since the last event and I was good pals with Oliver Fisher and Tom Sherrard among others and it was great to get everyone together.”

Danny Willett (back row right) in the European team that won the 2008 Michael Bonallack Trophy, playing alongside Shane Lowry, Nigel Edwards and Chris Wood.

Danny has not been back to Royal St George since English Amateur victory in 2007

WILLETT, who was a junior at Rotherham GC, has won seven times on Tour and, at 32 years of age, has arguably yet to reach his prime.

As a youth, Willett was always earmarked for a great career – and his English Amateur win at Royal St George’s in 2007 remains a landmark moment.

“It was a great week,” recalled Willett who beat Matt Cryer 3&2 to lift the silverware.

“I played a lot of good players that week and then beat Matt in the final.

“It was the end of a pretty exceptional summer and the culmination of lot of good golf that I played at that time.

“To win any event is brilliant – to win on home soil in front of England officials and organisers it was a really special one to get it under your belt.

“It was a great golf course to win on too – and I’ll now need to wait until next year to go back with this year’s Open postponed.

“Oddly enough I haven’t played there since I won the English Amateur.

“I was looking forward to going back – but it’s more just looking forward to The Open as an event.

“For an Englishman, The Open in England is truly special just as it is for a Scotsman in Scotland or the Irish boys last year at Portrush.

“You take Opens wherever they are – they are always phenomenal, but it’s great to get a home crowd.

“I have fond memories of that place and it’s been a helluva long time since I played it. To go back as professional with a different golf game would have been a lot of fun.”

Willett has seven victories on the European Tour to his name – he also claimed the biggest cash prize in 2018 by winning the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

Danny Willett during the Q&A session with England’s national squads

Rotherham still producing top teenage talents

AS a Yorkshireman, Willett remain fiercely proud of his home county and still keeps one eye on the amateur game.

The rise of Rotherham’s Ben Schmidt in the last year has caught his attention.

Willett added:”I still chat to Graham Walker about the lads coming up through Yorkshire and different bits and bobs.

“There are a couple of players in Yorkshire – Ben being one – and I keep track even though life is busy.

“I’ve tried to help him out for a few things here and there. He’s young, but he has to keep working hard and see where he gets.

“It’s good and well winning, but the scores he was posting were the thing to look out for. That’s the impressive part.

“He’s also won in Australia and if you have a game that travels, then that’s a good thing.”

Fellow Rotherham GC member Ben Schmidt, the youngest-ever winner of the Brabazon Trophy, has been given advice by Danny Willet. Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

•Next in line for the England squads is a Q&A with Ryder Cup player and European Tour winner Chris Wood.

Matt Wallace, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Meghan MacLaren and Bronte Law have all hosted similar sessions.

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Justin Rose in the suite named after him at North Hants Golf Club, including a picture of him putting in the Ryder Cup at Medinah in the famous 2012 comeback win.

HAMPSHIRE’S Justin Rose thinks European captain Padraig Harrington may need eight captain’s picks as a one-off selection policy for the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, in September.

Rose is determined that whatever happens to the Majors in 2020, the Ryder Cup should remain the highlight of the golfing calendar – and does not want it cancelled at this stage as some sources have predicted.

Debate over rearranging the Masters before the Ryder Cup in September – or after in October – has raged since Augusta National postponed April’s first Major of the season.

And with doubts over the US Open going ahead in June after Winged Foot was closed earlier this week – as a result of the coronavirus epidemic in New York – talk about whether Ryder Cup will go ahead has been intensifying.

Rose said: “Looking at it personally I’m not in as good a position as I’d like to be so it makes qualification trickier with events being stripped out – so the teams might look a little different this time around.

“If it goes ahead in 2020, I don’t know if it’s more important that we change the qualification criteria and Padraig gets eight picks maybe – given the circumstances?

“Rules are rules and you’ve got to have some type of guideline,” added Rose, a member at North Hants GC.

“But it’s an imperfect world at the moment and we’ve got to make the best of a bad situation.

“We either keep it where it is and the teams fall where they may, or you move it a year and try to make it a bit more of a highlight.

“The most important thing is that the health of the world is better,” added Justin, who is spending time at his Bahamas home during the current lockdown.

Rose, who blossomed in the county’s amateur ranks before becoming one of the biggest teenage talents in Europe in the mid 1990s, is concerned about what kind of schedule the top Europeans could be left facing when the Tours do get back under way.

With all European Tour golf officially cancelled until the end of May – and with the rising death toll in the UK from COVID-19 cases not expected to peak for another couple of weeks – the season’s main events could all get squeezed into a condensed season.

May’s USPGA Championship, at TPC Harding Park, in San Franciscio, which was called off – and could theoretically move to the slot in the calendar vacated now the Tokyo Olympics has been put back a year.

But reigning Olympic Champion Rose – who learned on Tuesday that he would not be able to defend the Gold Medal he won in Rio, in 2016 – is concerned about what knock-on affect the coronavirus epidemic could have on the Ryder Cup.

Rose said: “The Ryder Cup deserves to be the highlight of the schedule and deserves to have the players look forward to it and the fans to be excited about it.

“It would be a shame if it just kind of fell into a rhythm of golf and there wasn’t as much build-up.

“That’s what creates some of the excitement about the Ryder Cup, the talking about it for a year, the anticipation of it.

‘The qualification period for the Ryder Cup would also be very condensed.”

•You can see the current standings in qualifcation for Europe’s team by clicking here.

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The R&A has revealed they are drawing up contingency plans for the 149th Open at Royal St George’s, in Sandwich, in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN

THE R&A are working on contingency plans in case the Open at Royal St George’s – and the Women’s British Open at Royal Troon – are unable to be played on their planned dates.

R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers ruled out the need to cancel the 149^th Open Championship at Sandwich this early – even though many major sporting events around the world have been scrapped this month because of the coronavirus outbreak.

But he did not rule it might become necessary in the coming weeks if the situation in the UK continues to worsen.

So far the season’s first two Majors – next month’s Masters and May’s United States Professional Golfers’ Association Championship – have been postponed.

And the R&A said in a statement released on Thursday afternoon: “We are undertaking a comprehensive evaluation of our plans to stage the 149th Open at Royal St George’s, and the AIG Women’s British Open at Royal Troon, which are four and five months away respectively.

“This includes examining a range of scenarios for staging the championships, with our focus on proceeding as planned, as well as considering other contingency options available to us.”

R&A chief Mr Slumbers said: “Our absolute priority is to ensure the safety of players, fans, officials, staff and all involved in our championships and that will be at the forefront of our thinking as we monitor developments.

“We have some time before we start building the infrastructure at both venues and so we are keeping the scheduled dates in place for The Open and AIG Women’s British Open at this point.

“We recognise that this is a rapidly changing situation and we will keep everyone informed of any changes to our plans.

“These are difficult times but we are bearing in mind our responsibility for what’s right for golf and most importantly for society.”

The Open is due to be held from July 16-19, while the Women’s British Open is due to be played at Royal Troon, from August 20-23.

R&A Student Finals & Girls U16s off

THE R&A has announced that its recently-created Student Tour Series Finals, and the Girls U16 Amateur Championship – scheduled to be played at Fulford, at the end of April – have both been cancelled.

And while no other amateur events run by the R&A – including the Amateur Championship at Royal Birkdale, and the Women’s Amateur, at Kilmarnock (Barassie) both scheduled for June, and the British Boys, at Moortown, in August – are under review.

The R&A statement said: “We have contacted all those involved. We will keep the status of the rest of the amateur championship season under review.

The R&A’s move comes in a week which was seen the 2020 Masters postponed – the first time Augusta National Golf Club has been forced to make such a decision since 1945 at the end of the Second World War.

The town of Augusta, whose population touches 200,000  but almost doubles during the week of The Masters, is believed to received a $120million boost.

The R&A recently revealed a series of financial grants from their Open Legacy Fund worth £100,000 to the town of Sandwich to help mark the 15th time The Open will have been contested at Royal St George’s – as well as once at neighbouring Prince’s Golf Club , in 1932.

And research estimates the arrival of the Claret Jug at the host club brings annually an estimated £100million in direct and indirect economic benefits to the area.

The R&A plans to invest £200million in developing golf over the next decade, with the profits from the two Majors under its control, vital to that work.

USGA cancel US Open regional qualifiers

THE USGA have cancelled the first regional qualifying rounds of the US Open, which is set to be held at Winged Foot, in New York, from June 18-21.

And fears are growing that the third Major event of the 2020 calendar, could be postponed along with the Masters and the USPGA, at San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park, from May 7-10.

With more severe restrictions currently in place to combat the coronavirus pandemic in the USA than in the UK, golf fans will be desperate that the US Open and Open Championship are able to go ahead on their original dates.

Talk of the Masters being rescheduled for October, continues, but with no confirmation from Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Riley yet, the difficulty of finding a date after the Ryder Cup is due to be held at Whistling Straits, in late September, remains.

The PGA Tour may have to persuade one of its sponsors of the early wrap around season events to stand aside and with the growing economic problems from the coronavirus epidemic, that could entail some very delicate discussions.

Italy’s Francesca Fiorellini – the 2019 R&A Girls U16 Amateur Champion at Fulford. The 2020 championship at the York club has been cancelled. Picture by THE R&A / GETTY IMAGES

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Brooks Keopka will have to wait to see if he can defend the Sam Wanamaker for a third year in a row at some point in 2020 after May’s championship at TPC Harding Park was called off

THE USPGA Championship has become the second Major of the 2020 golf season to be postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

After days of speculation that the PGA of America, which organises the USPGA, was considering switching May’s tournament from San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park to Sawgrass, in Florida – where the Players Championship was cancelled after just 18 holes on Friday.

But PGA of America bosses announced this evening that they had decided to follow the lead of the Augusta National Golf Club – who postponed next month’s Masters – and abandon plans to host the USPGA Championship in California, from May 14-17.

And four more PGA Tour events have also been called off in April and May after the Masters.

PGA of America chief executive officer Seth Waugh finally ended the speculation with an announcement on Tuesday evening.

Mr Waugh said: “Postponement is the best decision for all involved.

“Throughout our evaluation process, we have been committed to following the guidance of public health authorities.

“This is a reflection of a thoughtful process.

“We are – and have been – working in concert with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, and our partners and friends at the PGA Tour, to find an alternative date that works for all.

“We are all very hopeful for a great outcome.

“We are also in dialogue with San Francisco Mayor London Breed and her team and look forward to hopefully bringing the 2020 PGA Championship to TPC Harding Park at a date this summer when it is safe and responsible to do so.”

Last year Brooks Keopka claimed the Sam Wanamaker Trophy for the second year in a row with his victory at New York’s Bethpage Black.

Now the former World No. 1 will have to wait to see when he can defend the title for a third time in 2020.

The PGA of America said the 2020 USPGA Championship was being postponed this evening

Four events after Masters now off

THE latest PGA Tour tournaments to join the list of cancelled professional golf events are:–

•RBC Heritage (April 16-19), Hilton Head South Carolina •Zurich Classic of New Orleans (April 23-26), at TPC Louisiana

•Wells Fargo Championship, (April 30-May 3), Quail Holllow, North Carolina

•AT&T Byron Nelson (May 7-10) at Trinity Forest GC, in Texas

It means the next professional golf event in America is not due to be played until the week of May 18 at the earliest –when the Charles Schwab Challenge is set to take place at Colonial Country Club, in Fort Worth, Texas.

There are then four more events scheduled on the PGA Tour before the USGA’s US Open is set to be held at Winged Foot, in New York.

The USGA has already cancelled the first stage of the 109 qualifying events that are held annually across the USA from late April, to make the up the field, after final qualifiers are held in May.

Two international qualifiers are also held in Japan and at Surrey’s Walton Heath.

A USGA spokesman said it would, “look to redesign qualifying going forward as events unfold.”

Qualifying for the US Women’s Open has also been cancelled. The US Women’s Open is scheduled at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas, from June 4-7.

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The famous par five 17th hole at Valderrama – the 2020 Andalucia Masters has been postponed because of the ongoing threat from the coronavirus pandemic

THE European Tour has cancelled the Estrella Damm N A Andalucia Masters, which was due to take place at Valderrama, at the end of April, because of the threat caused by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

The decision was made in light of the travel restrictions in force in Spain.

And it came after consultation with parties associated with the tournament which was going to be hosted by the Sergio Foundation.

They included the regional government in Andalucía, Real Club Valderrama, the Sergio Garcia Foundation and title sponsor Estrella Damm.

Discussions are ongoing with all parties looking into the possibility of rescheduling the tournament at a later date.

Valderrama chief executive Javier Reviriego said: “We are deeply concerned by the current developments related to coronavirus and we believe postponing the event is the best decision.

“We will work jointly with the European Tour and our sponsors to find a new date in the calendar to host this fantastic golf tournament.

“All of us at Valderrama look forward to hosting players and fans when we put this exceptional situation behind us.”

European Tour chief excutive Keith Pelley said: “We are all taking a day-by-day approach at the moment and we continue to assess the impact of coronavirus on all our events.

“But following discussions with all parties involved, it was clear that postponing the Estrella Damm N A Andalucia Masters at this point is the correct course of action.

“Public health and well-being remains the absolute priority for all of us.”

In brings the number of Eurpoean Tournaments that have been cancelled to five – lasting from March until the beginning of May.

On top of that, the Masters – the first Major of the year – at Augusta has been postponed for the first time since 1946, while the second World Golf Championship event of 2020 – the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play, which was due to return to Austin Country Club, in Texas (March 25-29), has also been cancelled.

The European Tour has said it is still looking to rearrange as many of its cancelled events as possible – December’s Hong Kong Open which was postponed because of the civil unrest in the former British colony – had to go ahead as an Asian Tour-only sanctioned event, in February.

The Magical Kenyan Open and Hero Indian Open were cancelled after governments in the host countries imposed travel restrictions while the Maybank Championship, in Malaysia, and the Volvo China Open, were called off in the early stages as the COVID-19 virus spread initially through parts of Asia.

•You can see the full European Tour schedule by clicking here.

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The European Tour has called off next week’s Magical Kenya Open after talks with the African country’s government because of the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

THE European Tour has cancelled its third tournament as the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) claimed the Magical Kenya Open as the latest sporting event to be cancelled.

The Government of Kenya announched its decision today (Friday) to postpone all meetings and conferences of an international nature in the country.

With the numbers of people infected with Coronavirus outside of China, continuing to grow daily, the Magical Kenya Open – presented by sponsors Absa – which was scheduled to take place at the Karen Country Club, in Nairobi, next week (March 12-15), will now not take place.

The European and Asian Tour announced that April’s Maybank Championship in Malaysia, and the Volvo China Open, were being postponed because of the Coronavirus outbreak, in the middle of February.

European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said: “We understand and totally respect the decision made by the Government of Kenya in these difficult times.

“We are looking into the possibility of rescheduling the tournament at some point later in the season, but that remains simply a possibility right now – we have no definitive plans at this stage.

“I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank president Uhuru Kenyatta and the Kenyan Government for their unwavering support, alongside Kenya Open Golf chairman Peter Kanyago and tournament director Patrick Obath for their strenuous efforts and commitment.

“We look forward to returning to Kenya in due course.”

The suspension of international events by the Kenyan government will be reviewed in a month’s time.

But with Pelley admitting it was only a possibility the Kenyan Open could rescheduled, European Tour players who are not in the world’s top 50 – and therefore exempt on the PGA Tour – face a dearth of golf over the next two months.

There are now no European Tour events scheduled for five weeks in a row – including the week of The Masters at Augusta (April 91-12) – starting from the World Golf Championship World Match Play Championship, in Austin, Texas, in the last week of March (25-29).

After this week’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, the next European Tour event is scheduled to be the Hero Indian Open, from March 19-22 – but then there is no tournament until the Estrella Damm NA Andalucia Masters, at Valderrama, from April 30-May 3.

The original 2020 European Tour schedule comprised 44 events including the four Majors, plus the Ryder Cup against the USA at Whistlling Straits, in Wisconsin, in September.

•To see the full European Tour schedule click here.

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Adam Scott’s second Australian PGA victory at RACV Royal Pines, was his first win in more than three years. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

ADAM Scott ended a three-and-a-half-year wait for his 11th European Tour title, winning the Australian PGA Championship for the second time at RACV Royal Pines Resort.

The 2013 Masters Tournament champion, who won his homeland’s PGA crown that same year, started the final round one stroke ahead of a condensed chasing pack.

But the winner of eight Euorpean Tour events and 13 more in the States trailed as Scott made the turn, while New Zealander Michael Hendry made a charge.

Hendry, who was battling through a rib injury sustained earlier in the week, birdied four holes on the front nine.

He then took the lead with his fifth gain on the 10th, but, after his sixth birdie of the day on the 16th, Hendry dropped to 11-under after bogeys on the 17th and 18th holes.

It wasn’t until Scott rolled in a clinical eagle putt on the par five 15th  – his third of the week on the hole – that he moved ahead once again.

The 39-year-old then held on to sign for a three-under par 69 – and a total of 13-under, to finish two strokes ahead of Hendry, ensuring his first title since the 2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral, in Miami – the year the Trump National renovation, that started in 2013, was completed.

Scott, who has two World Golf Championship titles as well has his lone Green Jacket, said: “I’m pretty stoked, actually.

“I grinded it out this week and I feel like I outsmarted the golf course a little bit, which feels good, and it was good enough to beat everyone.

“It’s been a long time between drinks for me and maybe only once or twice did the thought cross my mind that I’ll never win again.

“It feels very good to win here, especially to finish the year off kind of winning at home,” added Scott, whose victory Down Under was the seventh of his 19-year career on home soil.

“I’ve seen what it’s done for me in the past – a win. You feel like you’re just never going to lose again, so you want to run with that while the confidence is up.

“Somehow I’ll have to think that in seven weeks when I step back in LA,” said Scott.

“I think it’s very difficult to win. I’m on the wrong side of this age thing now where these young guys are really good and I played some pretty good golf a couple weeks this year and fell short.

“You know, record‑setting scores. I think the courses are getting tougher, guys are playing good.

“Just being alright doesn’t really get you in, you’ve got to be pretty much sensational,” added the most successful Aussie player since Greg Norman.

Hendry admitted he was just pleased to complete the round and pick up the cheque for

The Kiwi said: “The warm-up was terrible. I honestly thought I wasn’t going to get through the round.

“So quite honestly, my goal was just get through 18 holes and finish the event regardless of what the score was. Lo and behold, I hit it really well.

“It was painful all day and I just kept trying to basically man up and hit the shot.

“Maybe that was the thing that I needed to take my attention away from what was happening on the golf course.

“It was more about trying to make good swings under a little bit of pain, and I made a lot of good swings.

“I’m pretty happy with the way I played considering physically what was going on,” added Hendry, who has six wins in Asia and the Far East since turning pro in 2005, including the Toke Homemate Cup, in Japan, in 2015.

“It’s a shame that I didn’t end up winning, but when you’re not 100 percent and you’re trying to chase down one of the best players in the world, you’re up against it,” said Hendry.

Four Australians, Cameron Davis, Nick Flanagan, Min Woo Lee and Wade Ormsby, shared third place with China’s Carl Yuan on 10-under par.

Min Woo Lee, the former US Junior Champion – who is tipped to be the next superstar from the Antipodes – said: “It was a scrappy start.

“I bogeyed the first two par threes, which wasn’t the best. But I was proud of how I handled myself and I made a lot of good shots on the back nine.

“Seventeen was a little unlucky, then I hit a good shot into 18 and just missed the putt,” added the younger brother of LPGA superstar Minjee Lee.

“It’s just a few putts missed and I’m right in there. It’s a good learning curve.

“I knew I was behind all day,” said Lee. “You know someone is going to make birdies, so I was a little behind the eight ball.

“It was a good effort of me to come back after that start,” said Lee, who produced his best finish since he was fourth in the inaugural Saudi Arabia International, in March, having turned pro at the start of the year.

•For full results in the 2019 Australian PGA Championship click here.

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Francesco Molinari will take positive vibes from past performances in the USPGA to fire his bid for a second Major title at Bethpage Black. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

FRANCESCO Molinari is hoping to continue his impressive Major form at this week’s USPGA Championship, as The Open Champion prepares to once again tee it up alongside recently-crowned Masters winner Tiger Woods at Bethpage.

The Italian played side-by-side with Woods at Augusta National as the American famously claimed his 15th^h Major title.

And Molinari is unlikely be distracted by the hype around his playing partner in New York this week as the 2018 Race to Dubai champion looks to continue his purple patch at golf’s big four.

In his last six Major appearances, Molinari has claimed a win, a runner-up, a top five and a top 10 – his worst result in that time a tied 25th finish at last year’s US Open.

He has performed well in the last two USPGA Championships too, so the 36-year-old will be quietly confident despite the daunting length of Bethpage’s Black Course, which hosted the US Open in 2002 and 2009.

Francesco Molinari said: “It’s just been a good relationship with this tournament, I guess, if you can call it that. I think I had my first top 10 in a Major at the USPGA, as well.

“Probably the set-up of the courses suit me, it’s usually important to hit fairways and hit greens.

“And it’s probably just the kind of courses and layouts that this championship has been played on, I think, that have suited my game well in the past. Hopefully I’ll keep that streak going this week.

“I guess you need more time really to digest everything from the last year,” added the Italian Ryder Cup hero at Paris’ Le Golf National against the Americans, in September.

“Fortunately things keep coming my way, and obviously I like it. I love and enjoy every single minute.

“I enjoyed last season, even before winning the Open at Carnoustie. It doesn’t seem like 10 months have been passed already since we were there at Carnoustie.

“It’s been great, and I think the job for me now is obviously to do my best to keep it going, and in a few years hopefully to reflect and look back, and appreciate what I managed to achieve in these last few months,” said Francesco Molinari.

Meanwhile, Hampshire’s Justin Rose will be hoping to end a 100-year winless streak for English players at this event.

The World No. 2 is looking to bounce back from a disappointing Masters, which belied a strong run of form in the opening months of 2019 – which the 2013 US Open champion blamed on a change in his preparation for the event.

Rose will be looking to add the Sam Wanamaker Trophy to his US Open crown and regain the World No. 1 spot from Dustin Johnson, who has the 2016 US Open as his sole Major victory.

He said: “I’m definitely happy with my form. But I’m also kind of working at it, as well.

“I think Charlotte was a nice bounce-back after Augusta for sure – a week where I worked hard at my game as well as being able to compete.

“I had a good week at home this last week. I felt like the preparation that I put in for Augusta didn’t go well, so I’ve tried to change it up a little bit coming in here.

“So I’m coming in a lot fresher. It’s a golf course that I know quite well here, said the North Hants GC member.

“I’ve played in ’09 and I played the two Barclays events here, as well.

“So I felt like it was a golf course I didn’t have to come up and research too much. I had some good notes in my yardage book.

“So last week was about freshening up but also working really hard. Had all my team come down and practice with me at home.

“I’m feeling good, feeling ready, and looking forward to getting going tomorrow,” added Rose, who has regular caddy “Fooch” back on the bag after his return at Augusta, following a major heart operation during the winter.

Schauffele plays down hopes of first Major

MASTERS runner-up Xander Schauffele, who had to bow before the legend that is Tiger Woods at Augusta National, is many people’s tip to break into the winner’s circle at the Majors during 2019.

But Schauffele is not getting carried away by all the talk about his prospects, despite his victory at the Tour Championship at East Lake, in 2017.

He said: “I’m not really at a point where I’m walking out here with a huge head thinking I’m the big guy.

“I still feel like I’ve got to do all my homework and kind of keep my head down.”

“Plow right through is not what comes to mind when thinking of this course. I played 27 holes and it’s pretty straightforward.

“You have to golf your ball, and you definitely can’t fake it out here. Everything is right in front of you, and you’ve just got to go get it.

“I think everyone is sort of adjusting to the new schedule. I think we’re pretty excited about it.

“It’s nice to have one major a month, and it sort of rewards a good stretch of golf if you have it in you.

“Hopefully we can sort of trickle off what we did a month back,” said the San Diego pro.

“I haven’t looked at past scores and I don’t really know what to expect of scores coming out on Thursday.

“I’m glad that the weather is warming up a little bit or the back nine will be a little rough, but I think overall, I have the same happy-go-lucky attitude.”

Last year’s US Open winner Brooks Koepka is the defending champion this week after his victory at Bellerive, in St Louis, having had to wait just eight months to put the Wanamaker Trophy on the line.

•For live scoring in the first round of the USPA click here.

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The 2018 Fed Ex Champion in the Justin Rose Room at North Hants Golf Club where the club’s most famous member’s achievements – including his 2013 US Open win and claiming the Olympic Golf at Rio in 2016 – are recorded and celebrated. Picture courtesy North Hants GC

WHILE Justin Rose’s 14th appearance at the Masters may have not gone to plan over the first two days at Augusta, avid fans of amateur golf will remember events at North Hants Golf Club some 25 years ago, which set the US Open champion on the road to becoming the World No. 1.

Justin Rose was just 14 years old when he took on the might of the finest amateur golfers in the land in the 1995 Hampshire Hog – the majority were at least four or five years older, and in some cases 10, a lifetime in terms of experience and development, as in most sports.

But as the afternoon round unfolded, word spread back the clubhouse where many members had been either enjoying a long lunch, or were busy running the prestigious tournament that marks the real start of the UK domestic amateur season, that something special was happening out on the course.

The late respected sports reporter Alistair Marshall recalled before the 10^th anniversary of Rose blooming as a young boy: “A couple of us golf journalists were finishing a late lunch when a couple of the members came running into the bar.

“They said we had to come out quick because this young lad Justin Rose was ripping up the course, and was going to win at the age of just 14.”

He did indeed win, creating a new record 36-hole score in the process and the rest, as they say, is history.

The Hog was established back in 1959 and within its first 20 years had already established itself with three of Britain’s best two post-war amateurs – Sir Michael Bonallack Phillip Scrutton and Peter McEvoy.

The trio won it four times between them, sandwiched between the likes of future European Seniors Tour champion Carl Mason and a certain Sandy Lyle, who started the UK’s dominance at Augusta, 11 years after he collected the solid silver trophy depicting the famous Hampshire Hog.

Open and Masters winner Sandy Lyle is presented with the Hampshire Hog back in 1977. Picture courtesy of North Hants GC

The likes Gordon Brand Jnr and Steve Richardson would also graduate to Ryder Cup glory.

Another amateur legend, Gary Wolstenholme, who was invited to the Masters the following year after his two British Amateur Championship wins in 1991 and 2002, was crowned champion at North Hants in 1997 – denying Rose a second win – and in 2002.

And to bring the story up to date, if you had been one of the dozens of spectators rather even hundreds, who had watched the Hog over the last 10 or so years, you would have seen the likes of 2016 Masters winner Danny Willett, Tommy Fleetwood, Andy Sullivan and Matthew Fitzpatrick, who have all played in the last two Ryder Cups, tackling the heathland course where Rose really blossomed.

Rose still has incredibly strong ties to the club – the Justin Rose Room was created on the upper floor in the old committee room, featuring a trophy cabinet that features his official Olympic jacket after he claimed the Gold medal after the game returned to the Games for the first time in 112 years in Rio, in 2016.

The far end of the room features a folding wall which when extended – forms the official scoreboard from Merion Golf Club, where he famously won the US Open title in 2013.

Pictures of Justin winning the Hog back in 1995 and from some of his other famous victories – he is the only English junior to land the Carris and McGregor Trophies in the same season after winning the English U18 and U16 Amateur Championships, respectively – also adorn the walls.

But the most well-known picture features the teenager, who became the youngest-ever player to appear in the 1997 Walker Cup for Great Britain and Ireland against the USA, when he holed out at the last during the 1998 Open Championship, at Royal Birkdale, to finish fourth alongside Tiger Woods, having qualified as an amateur.

Rose turned pro the following week, and while it took him nine years to become crowned European No. 1, before moving to the United States, where he went on to claim 10 PGA Tour titles and two World Golf Championships, that April day at North Hants Golf Club, will always be remembered as pivotal in his journey to the top.

•Entry to watch this year’s Hampshire Hog on Sunday, April 14, is free. Play commences at 8am. North Hants Golf Club is on Minley Road, Fleet, just five minutes from the M3 Junction 4A.

Hampshire Hog winner Jordan Smith (left) with Moor Park’s Callum Shinkwin, holding the Hampshire Salver in 2013. Both are now on the European Tour. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN

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Bryson DeChambeau matched the fireworks of last year’s US Open and PGA Champion Brooks Koepka by firing a superb 66 to lead the Masters at Augusta after the first round . Picture by GETTY IMAGES.

BRYSON DeChambeau produced an incredible finish, posting four closing birdies to share the lead with Brooks Koepka at six-under par the end of day one at the Masters.

A remarkable run of scoring in the late groups stretched the field at Augusta National Golf Club, with DeChambeau amongst a host of European Tour players in the mix going into Friday at the first Major Championship of the year.

South African debutant Justin Harding was one of the players who had set the target at three-under early in the day.

And for a long time it looked like there would be a highly congested leaderboard as a nine-way tie for the lead developed.

But four birdies in a row from the 12th hole from Koepka moved the three-time Major champion to six-under and into a two-shot lead.

DeChambeau’s incredible finish saw him catch his fellow American, thanks in part to a wonderful second shot on the 18^th where he was only denied an eagle by the pin flag.

The player, known as “The Mad Scientist” for his quirky mathematical approach to golf, signed for a 66  – his best round at Augusta National.

Meanwhile Koepka, playing behind his rival who has won five times since last June, parred his way home to record the only bogey-free round of the day and share top spot.

The winner of the Dubai Desert Classic – the same route to the Green Jacket taken by Sergio Garcia in 2017 and Danny Willett in 2016 – said “It’s my best round out here, a 66.

“I was just looking to shoot something in the 60s this week because I haven’t done that yet in my couple times playing here.

“What a magical back nine.  Wind started to pick up, right around Amen Corner, and it was tough.  It was not easy one bit.” Bryson added.

“But we just stuck to what we knew we should have done, and we did, and was able to execute a beautiful nine-iron on 12 that kind of jump started my back nine, hitting it to five feet, making that putt got me rolling.

“I should have pulled the flagstick out (on the 18^th). But no, it was a great shot, and I was excited just to tap‑in to finish off a great round.”

Three-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson birdied five of his last seven holes to sit one shot off the lead at five-under, a shot clear of fellow American Dustin Johnson and Woburn’s Ian Poulter.

The honorary member at Leighton Buzzard Golf Club where he started life in the pro shop, said: “I’m very happy with today’s work. It’s a great start to a long week.

“The weather is going to be interesting over the next three days with the thunderstorms coming in,” said Poulter.

“The course dried out nicely today.  A couple of greens may have been a touch slower than what we’ve previously had in the past on a Thursday.

“But I’m happy with that and feel pretty good about it. My whole game was together, from the first hole to the 18th hole.

“I mean I only missed two greens in regulation, I think.  One of them was nine.  I made bogey there.

“And the other green I missed I was kind of 12 feet from the pin and just on the fringe.  So really my putting all around today was extremely solid. I need to do that over the next few days.”

Harding – who has won five times worldwide in the last year, including his maiden European Tour title at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters – is joined at three-under par by Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Kevin Kisner of the United States, Australian Adam Scott and Spain’s Jon Rahm.

South African Harding, who played a practice round with 2011 Green Jacket winner Charl Schwartzel earlier in the week, said: “I was happy with it, I handled my emotions pretty well, a bit annoying on the last making bogey.  But at the end of the day I’ll take it.

“Golf is purely momentum based.  If you take enough confidence into the rounds then you’re bound to play well.

“You just pretty much need to get out of your own way. I’ll take it and run if I can – we’re not allowed to run here at Augusta – but I’m pleased.

“It’s one of those where I gave myself a couple chances, I didn’t feel like I took great advantage of the par fives.

“I managed to hit a wedge close in on 16 but other than that it was one of those where you just kind of sneak in a birdie here or there where you can.

“I managed to hit a couple of fairways.  I’m still learning and this golf course is difficult.”

Rahm, who finished fourth last year and has since made his debut for Europe in the Ryder Cup thrashing handed out to the Americans in Paris last year, has made a great start to 2019 with five top 10s in eight starts.

The Spaniard said: “I think that the most important thing is I never lost patience.

“I was one over par on the par fives going to the back nine where it’s easy to get a little frustrated and I didn’t.

“I kept my cool and I was able to make a great birdie on nine and get where I’m going.

“It’s tough out there, they made a few changes to the golf course, they put some tough pins early in the day already, the greens started getting progressively firmer, so just being able to make a couple good putts and shoot under par is a good round.”

Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard, who is also making his debut at Augusta – having reached the last four of the WGC World Match Play in Texas two weeks ago – and The Open champion Francesco Molinari are among a group of 10 players at two-under.

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