‘We will have to see’: Danny Willett admits he is unsure if there will be tension at the Champions Dinner on Tuesday amid breakaway LIV tour – but the Brit is grateful to have his tour card
- The Dinner will be the first since the onset of the ongoing civil war in golf
- Several LIV players will be present with other still unhappy about their calls
- Willett was to lose his touring card but got it back when some pulled outÂ
Danny Willett is more likely to share a drink with the LIV rebels than start a row when they gather for the Champions Dinner at the Masters on Tuesday.
There will be six of the defectors present for the annual get-together at Augusta, which will be the first since the onset of golf’s bitter civil war.
Despite the potential for tension, Willett, the 2016 champion, has several reasons to stay out of any acrimony – not least because he owes his PGA Tour card to the creation of the breakaway series.
The 35-year-old was due to lose his playing privileges for this season after finishing 130th in the Tour standings last August, with only the top 125 surviving the cut. However, he was reprieved when six more golfers including Cameron Smith made a late switch to Greg Norman’s start-up.
Willett told Sportsmail: ‘I finished 124 because a few guys dropped out that last week. A couple of weeks later we played in Napa, California and actually had a chance to win, so I’d happily have a chat with them.
Danny Willett has said he is more likely to share a drink with LIV gofers than start a row
Willett lost his tour card but got it back when more golfers, including Cameron Smith, joined the breakaway tour
‘I have a lot of friends who play on LIV and it doesn’t change who they are. Fingers crossed everyone is civil at Augusta and at the end of the week we will have a great champion.’
Willett, who has worked up some decent form by making the cut in five straight PGA Tour events, added: ‘It’s an extremely special place to go to be part of the tradition there – obviously the Tuesday dinner for past champions is just amazing.
‘We’ll have to see (if there is tension with the LIV players). The main reason we’re there is to celebrates Scottie Scheffler’s win last year so hopefully we can all sit around there and have civil conversation and enjoy what’s a really memorable night.
‘The Tuesday is always great because you get all the old guys coming back telling their stories of when they won. And, you know, last year was amazing – Hideki Matsuyama did his speech in English and Gary Player did a speech in Japanese and just, you know, it’s just the camaraderie between all the guys. We know that when we drive in there we are on hallowed ground.’
Willett admitted ‘we will have to see’ if there is tension at the Champions Dinner on Tuesday
