DANNY WILLETT’S amazing triumph at the Masters may have shocked the golfing world - but it came as no surprise to his former coach and long-time mentor.

Graham Walker, the professional at The Oaks Golf Club in Aughton, south east of York, coached his fellow Yorkshireman for a decade up until 2013 to help launch him onto the European Tour - and now onto world stardom.

He watched along with millions of others on Sunday as Willett, 28, became the first Briton since Nick Faldo in 1996 to don the famous green jacket, taking advantage of a collapse by long-time leader Jordan Spieth, the 2015 winner.

"I sat with the family watching it on TV - it was a stunning victory," Walker told The Press.

"I coached him from the age of 15 in 2003 until the end of 2013 and mentored him along the way.

"He worked really hard as a youngster. It was not a surprise victory for me. He had been working towards it all his golfing life.

"When I first started with him, he was a two-handicapper at 15. By 19 or 20, he had won things like the England amateur title, the Spain amateur title, the Yorkshire title, and he was the number one amateur in the world with a plus-five handicap.

"He was never afraid to critique his game or to work hard.

"For me, that's been a long time coming, that victory.

"A lot of the groundwork was done when he was a lot younger."

Walker, however, modestly accepted little personal credit for his protege's success, which came eight years after he first turned professional.

Said the 57-year-old, who like Willett hails from Sheffield but now lives within a mile of The Oaks: "I coached him through and I enjoyed doing it.

"You just have to do the best you can and then wish him all the best. Like with a football manager, once they go out there it's down to them.

"You've got to help them get the skills in order to play at the best level possible. I tried to make sure he had all the skills in place so he could go around the world, play on the Tour and play in Major championships."

Willett took the title at the Augusta National by a staggering three shots after Spieth endured a nightmare inward nine, including a quadruple-bogey seven on the par-three 12th hole.

The American - the first man to lead the Masters for seven straight rounds going into the final day - had led by five shots as he approached the tenth hole but dramatically dropped six in three holes. He ended on one-over 73 and two under for the tournament, tying for second overall with England's Lee Westwood.

Willett had already ended on five under par for the tournament thanks to his superb five-under 67 on the last round, and he then waited in the clubhouse as Spieth completed his last few holes, unable to claw back the shots he needed.

Said Walker: "I thought Jordan Spieth was getting edgy. It was almost just a matter of time around that course before he slipped up.

"You only have to get a little bit off with your thoughts or your swing or your clubbing and that course can bite you. It's jumped up and bit him. It's that type of golf course - you can't take any liberties with it.

"Dan, though, controlled his ball really well around the course and into areas where he could play from.

"They said it on TV. When he was on 16 I felt it was almost all over, that it was Dan's to lose. Dan was in the box seat and he polished the job off. The chip from behind the 17th green was a great little chip - he controlled his ball well onto the green. There wasn't any way back for Jordan.

"Dan handled the pressure really well, but I knew he could handle himself well. He was in control of his golf.

"You do feel pressure and nerves, etc, but he was quite calm in himself and you felt he was in a good place."

Walker himself - who has been at the Oaks since 2004 - has never played at Augusta but was there in 2013 when another of his proteges, Garrick Porteous, earned an invite to the Masters as Amateur Champion.

"I went there with him and my son, James, and coached him around it. It's a great place to go," he said of the famous venue in Georgia.

"Dan hit the ball well all day to get it around the course in the right areas.

"I'm sure I'll speak to him in the next few days. He was doing interviews till about 3.30am on Monday morning before he phoned his mum and dad so it's fair to say he's been busy."