Danny Willett was shining on the big stage yet again as the 2016 champion carded his lowest ever opening round at the Masters Tournament.
The Englishman was already a four-time DP World Tour winner when he won his maiden Major Championship six years ago but he would not win for another two-and-a-half years, slipping outside of the top 450 on the Official World Golf Ranking.
He made his triumphant return to form by winning his first Rolex Series title at the 2018 DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and he added a second at the BMW PGA Championship the following year.
Victory at last season's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship further proved his penchant for peaking at the biggest events and on day one he was once again starring at Augusta National Golf Club.
A 69 was his lowest first 18 at the Masters and third-best ever round down Magnolia Lane, and Willett admitted he was enjoying being back on a happy hunting ground.
All smiles for the 2016 Masters Champion ✍️#TheMasters pic.twitter.com/svyO6pywnR
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) April 7, 2022
"It is nice to be back," he said. "It is just really nice to be back on the property. I came Saturday, played Sunday with a friend of mine and Jimmy Dunne and Frank, who are members here. Just good vibes.
"You can't come to this place and not wake up every morning with a smile on your face. I think it's impossible. It's impossible for the players and I think it's impossible for the 25,000 patrons who come and walk round here every day. It's a pretty special place.
"It's nice we can bring the nice work we've been doing and bring it here and it does kind of give you that little bit of butterflies still walking around this place."
Willett bogeyed the first but got up and down from short of the green at the par-five second before dropping another shot on the sixth.
That would be his last bogey of the day as he got up and down again on the par-five eighth and holed a brilliant 39-footer on the ninth with a huge right-to-left break to turn in 35.
You can't come to this place and not wake up every morning with a smile on your face. I think it's impossible
He played a lay-up at the 13th but put a smart third to eight feet before holing from 23 feet on the 15th to make it a full set on the par fives.
“Things have been trending nicely," he said.
“The body’s good and this place lends itself to the certain golf shots that we’ve been trying to work on and trying to hit. It doesn’t mean you’re going to hit them, obviously, but it’s always nice when the kinds of things you’ve been working at pay off.
“It doesn’t mean they’re going to pay off the next three days but it’s always nice to get a good start around this place. Three under is a lovely start."
