In April 2016, he won his first major championship at the 2016 Masters Tournament, becoming only the second Englishman to achieve the feat and the first European in 17 years to win at Augusta National.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph in 2016 Willett recalled his introduction to golf; "We used to go to Anglesey to play a par three course in the middle of a sheep field.

2011 proved to be a less successful season, with only one top ten placement in 30 competitions; he still managed to retain his tour membership comfortably with a final 91st place in the Order of Merit.

In December 2014 Willett won the Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City, South Africa and, with a third place at the 2015 WGC-Cadillac Match Play in May 2015, he earned a special temporary membership on the PGA Tour for the remainder of the 2015 season.

[7] Willett won his first major championship at the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National after shooting a five-under-par round of 67 to take advantage of a collapse by Jordan Spieth.

Willett was the leader in the clubhouse at −5 when he posted a bogey-free final round of 67 and was crowned champion when Spieth finished at −2 alongside Lee Westwood.

In the Friday afternoon fourballs he teamed up with Martin Kaymer, losing by 5 and 4 to Brandt Snedeker and Brooks Koepka, on Saturday, he paired with Lee Westwood against J.

Seeking his first victory since his Masters win, Willett entered the final round of the 2017 Maybank Championship in Malaysia, with a three-stroke advantage over the field.

In the final round, he was the only player in top 29 positions to shoot over par and finished in a tie for fifth, four strokes behind eventual winner, Fabrizio Zanotti.

[13] Willett struggled with a back injury throughout the season, withdrawing from three tournaments,[13] and ultimately lost his PGA Tour privileges having failed to make the required fifteen starts.

This win at the European Tour's flagship event brought Willett back into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

[20] Willett was one of a number of players to regain PGA Tour privileges after others who joined LIV Golf were removed from the FedEx Cup standings.

1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play NT = No tournament "T" = tied Amateur Professional Ryder Cup points record