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Willett ready to heat up the desert

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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JANUARY 18: Danny Willett of England swing sequence frame 11 of 12 during the pro-am ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club at Abu Dhabi Golf Club on January 18, 2017 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)
  • Post published:January 18, 2017

Danny Willett took the good with the bad in 2016 and is keen to rediscover his best form at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship this week.

‘It was along year and it had the Masters in there and Dubai, but also some lows at the end of the season. It was a career-defining year and hopefully I can follow up on a great season,’ he said.

Last year’s Masters champion went quiet in the middle of the year, but capped off 2016 with a sixth-place result at the Hong Kong Open.

He returns to competition at Abu Dhabi Golf Club this week, where he tied for 54th place last year before winning the Omega Dubai Desert Classic a fortnight later.

‘After the backend of last season it was a bit disappointing, definitely time for a break. I was able to have a couple of nice weeks off before Hong Kong, and it showed in how I played there,’ he said.

‘I’ve finished second in the Race to Dubai two years in a row,’ he added. ‘It’s nice to keep building on that and to keep trying to get better and working hard. It’s a great field again this year. It always is.’

The world number 12 won the Nedbank Golf Challenge in 2015 and then his first major in April last year. He’s kept pace with European heavyweights like Henrik Stenson and Rory McIlroy, but will look to cement his place amongst them in the buildup to playing Augusta National.