• The Masters Website
A pair of former Jacksonville State Gamecocks are getting ready for golf's biggest stage on Thursday, when
Danny Willett and
Matt Wallace tee it up in The Masters.
The English duo that both competed collegiately for the Gamecocks make JSU one of just nine programs with multiple competitors in the 2019 field. Both are former Ohio Valley Conference Champions and have taken a different route to Augusta for this year's tournament.
Willett has a lifetime exemption into the tournament as a former champion. The 2016 Masters champion, Willett joined Nick Faldo as the only Englishmen to win a Green Jacket after rising to the top of a crowded leaderboard on Sunday with a bogey-free, final-round 67.
Wallace has played his way into the field recently, receiving his invitation by finishing in the Top 50 (44th) of the final Official World Golf Ranking for the 2018 calendar year. He also would have earned a spot in the field by being in the Top 50 (36th) on the Official World Golf Ranking published the week before The Masters.
This will be Willett's fifth consecutive Masters appearance, while Wallace will be making his first appearance in the first Major of the 2019 season. They are the only former OVC golfers in the field.
Willett was an All-OVC player for the Gamecocks in 2006 and 2007. He was the 2006 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and won medalist honors at the 2007 OVC Championship. He was a First Team All-OVC performer and a member of the OVC's All-Tournament Team in both seasons.
Since joining the European PGA Tour in 2008, Willett has won six times and earned over 14 million euros. His latest win came last season in the Dubai Championship.
Wallace played for JSU as a freshman in the 2010-11 season before turning professional. His year in Jacksonville was a successful one that saw him win twice, including the 2011 OVC Championship. He was the OVC Freshman of the Year and held the record for lowest round in school history with a 10-under 62 in the F&M Bank APSU Intercollegiate.
Wallace is in his fourth season on the European Tour and has four wins, including three in 2018 alone. He has earned over three million euros over the past four years, including almost 2.3 million in 2018. He will turn 29 on Friday during this year's Masters.
Willett will tee off at 8:14 a.m. CT and is paired with Brandt Snedeker and Japanese amateur Takumi Kanaya. Wallace is paired with two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer and will tee off at 11:10 a.m. CT.
Collegiate programs with multiple competitors in the 2019 Masters:
Oklahoma State - 5
Georgia - 3
Georgia Tech - 3
Arizona State - 3
Jacksonville State - 2
Clemson - 2
Arkansas - 2
Auburn - 2
UNLV - 2