Sandwich, England (AP) – The unwanted stage Lee Westwood slipped into has finally arrived.
The British Open at Royal St George’s is Westwood’s 88th Major Championship, and no other player has participated in more than one without winning one.
It hurts, right?
Apparently not.
“It’s great, this record,” he said on Wednesday. “It shows that I have been a good player for a long time.”
It was therefore handed over to Westwood, a former top player who won the European Tour and the PGA Tour 27 times and 3 times in Europe. How to earn a major?
“Another praise,” he said indeed. “Yes I like that.”
Casual? May be. Is this ironic? surely. He has mastered it for a long time.
Still, there may be some real clues behind it all. It emphasizes the mental toughness and thick skin that the 48-year-old Englishman has had to develop over the years after many heartaches on the biggest golf scene.
After all, he’s been in the top 10 19 times in major tournaments and, more specifically, achieved 9 top 3. Eight of them were ranked world number one for five years (2008-13). ..
Nonetheless, Westwood is back in search of more. And without a doubt, he’s still talking about the title, approaching 50.
“When we get to our age, we maybe don’t take it as seriously as we used to, and when you look at it a little more freakishly, it’s easy to play golf. What is it – put a little ball in a little hole. “
Most of his carefree approaches have helped him a lot. In December, he finished the 2020 season as the Dubai Race Champion (formerly known as the Order of Merit winner) for the third time in his career, 20 years after the first. His victory in Abu Dhabi last year made him the only active golfer to win the title in 40 years.
Most recently, he was a two-consecutive finalist at the Bayhill and The Players Championships on the PGA Tour in March.
Self-proclaimed “young of the working class,” Westwood demonstrates his ability to stay relevant at the top of golf. He is ranked 29th. Stay healthy, have other interests in life like horse racing and skiing, and have a better outlook. He also worked hard as a caddy last month and this week married Helen Story in a Bag for the second time.
What disappoints him is the inability to maintain his strength every week, he said. But he knows it comes with age.
“I think mentally I’m stronger when I’m focused and my game is there,†Westwood said. “Probably a little better putt than 10 years ago. Short game is definitely better. From tee to green, probably not so good, but good enough.
Westwood missed the cut in two appearances at Royal St George’s, which he doesn’t mind. After all, he did the same at Muirfield in 2002, but was third when he entered the final round with a lead in 2013.
Just one of those many near misses, he passed Jay Haas as the man who played without winning most major tournaments.
Of course, Westwood won’t win this week.
“It’s a lottery,†he said. “Links Golf is even more of a lottery than Week-in and Week-out Golf, where conditions are more predictable. I don’t think it can be over-analyzed.
___
Other AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
___
Steve Douglas can be found at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
