Ferguson lost Ksh1,153,023.17 on Speith Masters meltdown

Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson congratulated Masters champion Danny Willett, not without telling the Englishman he had £8,000 (Ksh1,153,023.17) on Jordan Spieth to claim back-to-back green jackets.

Willett, making just his second Masters appearance, broke through for his maiden major title with a three-stroke victory at Augusta National on Sunday as defending champion Spieth faltered dramatically.

Spieth appeared all but certain to seal consecutive wire-to-wire triumphs at the Masters after birdieing four success holes from the sixth to reach seven under, until the American endured a sensational eight-shot swing.

In footage attributed to BBC Sport, Willett was greeted by iconic football manager Ferguson, who admitted: “I had eight grand on Spieth.”

Ferguson added: “I’m so delighted. I’m so delighted, honestly. Happy to throw it away”, before Willett responded by saying: “Exactly. You need to know where to put your money.”

Afterwards, Willett revealed Ferguson – who retired in 2013 after guiding United to 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies among others – shared some words of wisdom.

“He had a brilliant piece of advice. He said: ‘When I was at Man United we never looked back on what we had achieved, we always looked forward. As soon as we win a trophy, it is forgotten about. The next morning we wake up and try to work hard to win the next trophy'”, the 28-year-old said.

“For him to say that puts things back in perspective from a true winner’s point of view. I’ve always said that it’s not what you’ve done but what you can do.

“This will be different because we have achieved something pretty massive but for Fergie to say that was brilliant. It gave me an insight into what true champion would think and that’s how I’m sure Rory [McIlroy], Jordan and Jason [Day] think.

“They don’t rest on their laurels. They are back in the gym working hard or on the range practising trying to make sure that when they next come out they will be competing.”