John Daly had an inkling Danny Willett would win the Masters

John Daly might be the only person outside of Danny Willett’s circle of friends and family members to believe the 28-year-old Englishman had a shot at winning last week’s Masters.

Yet, the new father was precisely the player Daly picked to deny Jordan Spieth his chance to be the only golfer to go wire-to-wire in two straight major championships.

“My dark horse this week is Danny Willett,” Daly said last week on the Dan Patrick Show. “I still think you’re gonna see the cream of the crop. I still think you’re gonna see Jason Day -- I never count Phil Mickelson out, I never count Bubba [Watson] out. Watch out for guys like Scott Piercy and Danny Willett. They both play really good on fast, fast greens.”

Pretty good golfstradamus-ing there by the two-time major champ, since Willett, the winner of five European Tour events, was not exactly a household name before his stunning victory over Spieth, who led the tournament for three rounds and 11 holes. In fact, with his wife expecting the birth of the couple’s first child, Willett was not necessarily expected to play at Augusta, let alone win.

Daly knows a little something about what it takes to contend at the Masters, having tied for third in 1993. His last start was in 2006 and over the last several years he has spent the week of the men’s first major of the season about a mile down Washington Road, selling Loudmouth gear from the side of an RV.