Saturday 8 April 2017 11:51, UK
What a difference a year makes. This time 12 months ago Danny Willett was preparing for the weekend that would end with him being crowned Masters champion.
However, a nightmare second round means that this year he will be forced to watch from the sidelines as the winner of the Green Jacket is decided.
The Englishman is not the first defending champion to suffer this fate at Augusta National. In fact, while it is a group none of them would wish to be part of, Willett is in fairly esteemed company…
Heading into the 1967 Masters, Nicklaus was looking for his third Green Jacket on the spin and his fourth in five years. That still remained a possibility after he finished his opening round level par in a tie for sixth and just five shots off the lead. However, a disastrous second round of 79 saw him become the first defending Masters champion to miss the cut as Gay Brewer claimed his only major triumph. Of course, it was far from the end of Nicklaus, who went on to win a further three Masters titles over the next 19 years.
Aaron had won his one and only major title in 1973, coming from four shots back after the third round to win by a single stroke. The following year, though, it was a rather different story. The then 37-year-old shot an opening round 77 and was unable to rectify the situation in the second, carding a one over 73, to finish six over.
Having stormed to victory in 1980 to claim his second major title, Ballesteros was equally spectacular in missing the cut the next year. The ever-popular Spaniard finished +10 after rounds of 78 and 76 to miss the cut by a distance, six shots to be precise. He came back strongly to claim a second Green Jacket in '83 but again struggled to defend his crown, his +3 after two rounds seeing him become the first, and to date, only, player to miss the cut twice as defending champion at Augusta.
Three years on from winning his maiden major title at The Open, Lyle emerged victorious at the Masters, leading from the second round and holding on to win by a shot from Mark Calcavecchia. The Scot was unable to repeat the feat in 1989 though, scoring was tough but despite that, Lyle's rounds of 77 and 76 were not enough to see him through to the weekend.
Crenshaw won his second Green Jacket 11 years after the first, holding off the challenge of Davis Love III to claim an emotional victory, just a week after the death of his mentor Harvey Penick. His 1996 tournament came to a premature end though after scores on 77 and 74 on Thursday and Friday, respectively. Crenshaw continued to compete at Augusta for the next 19 years with the 2015 Masters the last of his 44 appearances.
Faldo received his Green Jacket from Crenshaw in 1996, after what proved to be his final major win, and suffered the same fate as the American had the previous year. Tiger Woods was obliterating the field on his way to a record victory and, over the weekend, Faldo could only watch on after carding a calamitous 81 in his second round.
After the opening round, Olazabal was even par and tied for 10th. So, too, was Vijay Singh. However, their fortunes for the rest of the tournament were rather different. The Spaniard's defence of the Masters ended the next day after he shot a five-over par 77, while Singh carded a 67 to take a share of second place and would go on to secure his first Green Jacket and second major title.
Prior to Willett's early exit, Weir was the last defending champion not to make it through to the weekend. The Canadian was not only the first of his countrymen to win the Masters but also the first left-hander to triumph at Augusta, in 2003. Phil Mickelson became the second left-handed victor the following year as Weir shot a first round 79 to bring his defence to a swift end. The 46-year-old was back at Augusta this year, but like Willett, was unable to make the cut.
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