The Loop
Watch Danny Willett throw out a surprisingly good first pitch at Yankee Stadium
Our surprise in Danny Willett's ability to throw a baseball has nothing to do with the fact that he's English. We swear. OK, so maybe it does a little. But more so, it's that our expectations have been irrevocably lowered by some of the celebs who have thrown out first pitches in recent years. Ahem, 50 Cent.
But there Willett was on Sunday, actually toeing the rubber at Yankee Stadium to make his attempt completely legit. And like he did at Augusta National in April, Willett delivered. Check it out:
Decent power and impeccable precision. Kind of sounds like Willett's golf game.
As you can hear, Willett's strike over the outside corner impressed Yankees announcers Michael Kay and Paul O'Neill, a former Yankees star and an avid golfer. Willett was asked about the toss on Tuesday ahead of the PGA Championship and had this to say.
"No, I'm not going to do a Jordan on you," Willett joked, showing a knowledge of basketball as well. "No, it was a great day. It was an honor to be asked to go from the Yankees, and I mean, it's an awesome place. Yankees baseball is steeped in history. The ground was awesome, and the way they treated us, and to be able to go out there in front of quite a few thousand people and not mess up too bad, was pretty good."
Willett, his wife Nicole and son Zachariah all wore Yankees jerseys for the occasion. It would have been even cooler if he threw the pitch while wearing the green jacket, but again, the experience was a success -- even if the fans didn't seem to know who he was.
"Like I say, we didn't throw it five yards in front of us," Willett added. "We didn't hit somebody in the first row, so I think we did all right."