Danny Willett to possibly miss the Masters for birth of 1st child. Would you do the same?

[Shindig]

I wouldn't ever consider missing the Masters for the birth of Danny Willet's first child.

Also, if I were a professional golfer with the desire to have a child, I'd probably aim to make sure that the birth wasn't in April, just to avoid this conflict.   Too late for that decision in Danny's case, of course, but I'm always surprised when things like this happen -- Phil's first almost happening at the Open many years ago, for example. 

[GolfLug]

Absolutely no conflict here. Would not miss it even if it were my 5th. Birth is not just about the child but mother too. Pregnancies are inherently high risk. Last thing I want is not be there if something went south.

I don't know, I just can't see my wife go through it on her own knowing how birth of both of my children went (nothing bad, just everything in general).

[mvmac]

1 minute ago, Shindig said:

I wouldn't ever consider missing the Masters for the birth of Danny Willet's first child.

[Ernest Jones]

Didn't read the thread, but it's a no brainer, I'm not missing the birth of my child for anything. 

Those who have experienced making eye contact that first time  with your child will understand. There is nowhere else you should ever consider being at that timeless moment. 

[boogielicious]

4 minutes ago, Ernest Jones said:

Didn't read the thread, but it's a no brainer, I'm not missing the birth of my child for anything. 

Those who have experienced making eye contact that first time  with your child will understand. There is nowhere else you should ever consider being at that timeless moment. 

Plus when they are misbehaving as a teenager, you can say, "I skipped the Masters to be there when you were born and you can't even put the dishes in the dishwasher?" or something to that effect.

[pganapathy]

As a tour pro the only reason you should consider playing any tournament over being there for your kid's birth is if the earnings (appearance fee principally) or potential earnings will be life changing for you and your family.  If not, you can always play another tournament but can't be there for the birth of your kid

[14ledo81]

11 minutes ago, Ernest Jones said:

Didn't read the thread, but it's a no brainer, I'm not missing the birth of my child for anything. 

Those who have experienced making eye contact that first time  with your child will understand. There is nowhere else you should ever consider being at that timeless moment. 

 

 I agree with this completely.

For me, it is not so much for my wife (and certainly not for the child who does not know), but for me.  I don't want to miss the birth because I want to be there.

 

Although, I do remember a thread from a few years back about missing the birth for a certain amount of money.  It seems some felt that the amount was enough to make a significant difference in the childs life.  I can see this side as well.  

[Ernest Jones]

11 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

Plus when they are misbehaving as a teenager, you can say, "I skipped the Masters to be there when you were born and you can't even put the dishes in the dishwasher?" or something to that effect.

Lol, yes, that would come in handy too!

 

[Dave2512]

My parents razz me all the time for being born during the Super Bowl. Funny thing two years later same thing happened when my brother was born. But yeah no brainer you take your wife to Augusta and do both. Just kidding take of family biz first it's just a golf tournament. I'd skip it for less than that.

[Shindig]

So now I need to decide how to vote in this poll.  I can't see missing the Masters if I were in that position.  I could see missing, say, the British Open, especially if it weren't at St. Andrews.  Is that "yes, I would miss a major ..." or "No, if I were in Danny Willet's shoes, I wouldn't elect to skip the Masters" or something else?

[stealthhwk]

5 hours ago, Broke100Once said:

Augusta National could win itself some solid PR points by saying that if Willett skips this year's tournament to be with his wife, there will be a spot waiting for him in the 2017 field.

I would NOT miss the birth of my child for anything! Not golf, work, or otherwise. Good on Danny indeed,and my best to him and his family. As for augusta, that would def be a classy move.

[caniac6]

My wife was 40, and I was 41 when our son was born. He was a month early, and it was a difficult delivery. He spent a week in nicu, and it was touch and go for awhile. He is the absolute joy of our life. Now, he is a happy,normal,20 year old college sophomore, and a great kid. No way a golf tournament would have kept me away from his birth.

[iacas]

7 hours ago, mvmac said:

I'd play if I was Danny (my wife agrees with me btw). Any other major and I would probably skip it. 

My wife voted the same way.

[mchepp]

The thing for a guy like Danny Willet is you cannot be assured your chance to play at Augusta again. Sure, he has to think positive that he'll get back there, but you just never know. I would heavily be inclined to play.

On the other hand, the birth of your kid is an unbelievable experience, and you never get it back. I can say there is nothing at my job that would cause me to miss the birth. No big deal, no nothing. So if I consider that golf is Danny's job then he has to go to the birth.

I guess I am totally mixed. I would want to play in the Masters because of a life long passion for the game of golf, but if I looked at from the perspective that golf is simply a job I have to go to the birth.

So birth it is. I could also hope for an outside shot that on the off chance that I don't qualify the next year that the powers that be at Augusta would take pity on me and allow me to play the next year.

[newtogolf]

2 minutes ago, mchepp said:

The thing for a guy like Danny Willet is you cannot be assured your chance to play at Augusta again. Sure, he has to think positive that he'll get back there, but you just never know. I would heavily be inclined to play.

On the other hand, the birth of your kid is an unbelievable experience, and you never get it back. I can say there is nothing at my job that would cause me to miss the birth. No big deal, no nothing. So if I consider that golf is Danny's job then he has to go to the birth.

I guess I am totally mixed. I would want to play in the Masters because of a life long passion for the game of golf, but if I looked at from the perspective that golf is simply a job I have to go to the birth.

So birth it is. I could also hope for an outside shot that on the off chance that I don't qualify the next year that the powers that be at Augusta would take pity on me and allow me to play the next year.

What are the Vegas odds that Willet would finish Top 20?  He's not a top player, factor in that this will be his first Masters and that his focus will be split between golf and his wife giving birth, what are the chances he even makes the cut?

While I can appreciate the magnitude of the opportunity to play in a Masters tournament I still would want to be with my wife when our child was born.

[taxgolf]

20 hours ago, Patch said:

The Masters is just a game. Child birth is life. There is no comparison. 

+1

[iacas]

I didn't see my child being born*, but this sounds to me like one if those things people say because they're supposed to say it, at least in part. Plenty of people miss the birth of their children for far lamer reasons. If it all mattered that much, both the birth and the Masters, just induce a week early.

* She is my step-daughter but neither of us consider her as such and I've known her since she was 1. She has no memory before me being in her life.

[Wally Fairway]

20 hours ago, DeadMan said:

I wouldn't ever judge a professional golfer for making either choice. Good for Willet no matter what he decides to do.

That said, if it were me, I'd go to the Masters. But my thinking would be that there's a decent chance I won't get back to the Masters ever, so I should take advantage of it. But I doubt there are many professional golfers that think that way. One of the many reasons that I'm not a professional golfer (chief among them being my swing) ...

 

EDIT - I do recall a couple of years ago there was a struggling golfer (i.e., I'm not sure he was even on the Web.com Tour) that Monday qualified for an event and finished in the top 5. That meant he was automatically in the next tournament. But he was going to skip that if his wife had their 4th kid during the tournament. That was a no brainer to me - if you need the money and it's your 4th kid, I'd skip the birth and play the tournament.

LOL at your edit. I can't imagine not being there for the birth of my first child, or any of my kids for that matter. But my wife comes from a big family of 9 kids. Her dad was there for most of them, but when her older brother was born, the 5th out of 9, her dad wasn't there because it was opening day of deer season. I guess everyone has their own set of priorities.

To the point that Willet isn't going to win, while that may be true (or at least likely), playing is worth a ton in exposure for sponsors and finishing top 12 gets you invited back, top