Willett claims 'magical' Alfred Dunhill Links Championship win on his birthday

Danny Willett revealed in a "magical" triumph after clinching the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on his 34th birthday.

Willett went into his final round at St Andrews with a three-shot lead and stayed ahead of the field to claim his eighth European Tour victory by two strokes with a closing four-under 68.

The Englishman made the turn on the Old Course three under and holed his fifth birdie at the 10th, going level par the rest of the way to finish 18 under par.

Willett was briefly caught by Richard Bland, who made five birdies on the front nine to hit the turn in 31, but a one-over back nine meant Bland finished three shots behind.

Joakim Lagergren and Tyrrell Hatton finished in a tie for second at 16 under, with Shane Lowry a shot further back alongside Bland.

However, the day belonged to Willett, who sealed his first win since the 2019 BMW PGA Championship, having endured a bout with COVID-19, suffered with appendicitis and had a hernia removed in an extremely challenging 2021.

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"It's magical," said Willett, who will move back into the Official World Golf Ranking top 100 with this win. "On British soil with everyone here, it's been a great week.

"To win here, to be British and to be able to win on British soil, to win at the home of golf, this is a very special one. Especially after how the last kind of year and a half has been for everyone involved. Especially for us, we've struggled a little bit with things.

"This one, for everyone watching, this seems quite out of the blue but the practice I've been doing at home and the inner belief we have every time we get in and out of position to do something was proven again.

"Doesn't matter where it is, who it's against, it's just a question of if the game is in shape. When it is, we're all right."