Danny Willett is delighted to have the "privilege" of hosting the 2021 Betfred British Masters but he is hoping to be a force on the course at The Belfry.
Willett follows in the footsteps of Ian Poulter, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood (twice), Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood in taking on hosting duties since the event made its return in 2015, with Rose and Fleetwood the only hosts to manage a top ten finish.
This is the Englishman's first time as a tournament host and while he admits it is a very different experience, he is enjoying the extra responsibilities.
"It’s a little different this week but it’s been good fun," he said. "We’ve had a few media duties that we had to fulfil and got a couple of cool challenges that we had to do on the tenth last night for the European Tour content but it’s nice to be able to host after the names that have hosted it in the past five or six years.
“It’s a privilege to be honest that the European Tour would select me to host such a great event as the Betfred British Masters and hopefully I can do it again in the future with some fans.
“You want to put a good performance in, but you want to make sure the week goes as planned for other people as well as yourself, so it’s a tricky one.
"I can see why guys have struggled in the past but fingers crossed I can change that and have a nice week.
"You realise that it’s a nice thing to host an event and when you get here, you do realise it is a privilege and it is a proud moment to put your name to any event of any magnitude and for me, with the Betfred British Masters being so close to home, it is a nice moment to experience.
“I think it takes your focus a little bit from the golf, but I’ve played 27 holes and I’ve got some good practice in so I think if I don’t play well now there are no other excuses.”
The Green Jacket winner and two time Rolex Series champion finished in the top 20 to start the season at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and is now looking to kick on and potentially secure a second Ryder Cup appearance after fully recovering from Covid-19.
"My game has been good at home, practice has been good," he said. "I had a busy spell obviously after getting Covid, when I pulled out of the Players and Honda.
"We like to think we don't need any help... but actually It's important that us as men take care of ourselves."@Danny_Willett explains why he's chosen @ProstateUK as the official charity for the Betfred British Masters. pic.twitter.com/7HdShJGhzK
— BETFRED (@Betfred) May 10, 2021
"It took probably three or four weeks to get my full fitness back and I still wasn’t feeling great.
"I’m into the mid-part of the season now where it would be good to press on. The practice that I’ve been doing has been really good, my body is really good so hopefully now we can play a little bit more and a little bit better.
"I didn’t realise I was that high up (on the Ryder Cup points list), I thought I’d dropped a lot further down
"I’d not been looking at it. We’ve just been trying to do our bit. That’s nice to know. It’s one of those where you’re in touching distance of getting a place outright, which is what you want to do - nobody wants to rely on a pick.
"It would be nice to press on from now to September, give us a fighting chance."
