Lee Westwood

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Lee Westwood OBE
Personal information
Full name Lee John Westwood
Nickname Westy[1]
Born 24 April 1973 (1973-04-24) (age 38)
Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 196 lb (89 kg; 14.0 st)
Nationality  England
Residence Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England
Career
Turned professional 1993
Current tour(s) European Tour (joined 1994)
PGA Tour
Professional wins 37
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 2
European Tour 21 (tied 9th all time)
Japan Golf Tour 4
Asian Tour 5
Sunshine Tour 3
PGA Tour of Australasia 1
Best results in Major Championships
Masters Tournament 2nd: 2010
U.S. Open 3rd/T3: 2008, 2011
The Open Championship 2nd: 2010
PGA Championship T3: 2009
Achievements and awards
European Tour
Order of Merit winner		 2000, 2009
European Tour
Golfer of the Year		 1998, 2000, 2009

Lee John Westwood OBE (born 24 April 1973) is an English professional golfer. Noted for his consistency, Westwood is one of the few golfers who has won tournaments on every major continent, including victories on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He was named player of the year for the 1998, 2000, and 2009 seasons. He has won the 2000 European Tour Order of Merit, and the renamed 2009 Race to Dubai. He has represented Europe for the last seven consecutive Ryder Cups. In late 2010 Westwood became the World number one golfer, ending the reign of Tiger Woods, and becoming the first British golfer since Nick Faldo in 1994 to hold that position. He held the number one position for a total of 22 weeks.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, Westwood began to play golf aged 13 with a half set bought by grandparents. His father John, a mathematics teacher, took up the game at the same time to encourage his son. A talented sportsman at school, Lee played rugby, cricket and football.

Westwood had a later start at the game than many future tournament professionals, but less than two years later he was the junior champion of Nottinghamshire. In 1990 he won his first amateur tournament, the Peter McEvoy Trophy. In 1993 he won the British Youth Championship and turned professional.

[edit] Professional career

In 1996 he won his first professional tournament, the Volvo Scandinavian Masters, closely followed by the Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters in Japan. His success continued in 1997 defending his Japanese title and winning the Malaysian Open, the Volvo Masters in Spain, and the Holden Australian Open, beating Greg Norman in a playoff. He also partnered with Nick Faldo in the Ryder Cup that year.

Westwood has won 21 events on the European Tour and has also won tournaments in North America, Africa, Asia and Australia. His most successful year to date has been 2000 when he won seven tournaments worldwide and was ranked first on the European Order of Merit, ending Colin Montgomerie's long run of European Tour dominance.

Westwood took a significant break from the game following the birth of son Samuel Bevan in 2001, and together with a restructuring of his swing under David Leadbetter, led to him being out of contention in tournaments until his 2003 victory in Germany, his 25th worldwide.

Westwood returned to the winners circle in 2007 by winning both the Valle Romano Open de Andalucia and the Quinn Direct British Masters to bring his total European Tour wins to 18. As a result he moved back into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings. Westwood finished the 2007 season with five top 10 finishes in the last five events. He carried this form into the 2008 season, starting with two tied second places and a fifth, moving back into the top 20 in the world rankings.[2] At the Masters, Westwood finished tied for 11th and he narrowly missed out on becoming the first European in 38 years to win the U.S. Open, finishing 3rd on level-par,[3] his best finish in a major. He followed this up in 2009 with two further 3rd place finishes, in the Open and the PGA Championship. In October 2009, Westwood ended his two-year wait for a tournament win by winning the Portugal Masters.[4] This was followed the next month with a win at the Dubai World Championship, which also brought with it the inaugural Race to Dubai title.[5]

Westwood making a bunker shot at the 2008 Open

Westwood has played in the Gary Player Invitational charity event several times to assist Player raise money for children in need around the world.

Westwood earned a career-best second place at the 2010 Masters Tournament, leading by one shot going into the final day before being overtaken by eventual champion Phil Mickelson.[6] Westwood came through with his 2nd tour victory at the St. Jude Classic the week before the U.S. Open.[7] Westwood claimed another second place finish at the 2010 Open Championship, although he was a distant runner-up to Louis Oosthuizen. Despite the two 2nd place finishes at the season's first three majors, Westwood did not compete in the PGA Championship due to injury.

In May 2011, Westwood contested a playoff at the BMW PGA Championship with fellow Englishman and at the time world number two Luke Donald. On the par five 18th, Donald hit his approach shot into the green leaving six feet for birdie. Westwood attempted to follow him in close to the hole but got too much backspin on his pitch and the ball spun back into the water hazard. Westwood eventually chipped up from the drop zone and went on to make double bogey. Donald would then hole his birdie putt to win the championship and in the process become the new world number one.[8]

In June 2011, Westwood equalled his best performance at the U.S. Open finishing in a tie for third place at Congressional CC, an event which was dominated by Rory McIlroy. This was the fourth time in his career that Westwood had finished third in a major.

In December 2011, Westwood shot the lowest round of his career, a 60, at the Thailand Golf Championship.[9] He followed that up with a 64 to equal the lowest 36-hole total on the Asian Tour[10] and won the tournament by seven shots.[11]

Westwood rejoined the PGA Tour for the 2012 season, stating that "It felt right in a Ryder Cup year" and intimated that he would like to experience the challenge for the FedEx Cup in the end of season playoffs for the first time. In February 2012, Westwood recorded his best ever performance at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship when he made a run all the way to the semi-finals for the first time. In all eleven previous attempts he had never once made it past the second round. He beat Nicolas Colsaerts, Robert Karlsson, Nick Watney and Martin Laird on route before falling, 3&1, to Rory McIlroy in the semi-finals. He finished in 4th place after losing the consolation match to American Mark Wilson, 1 up.[12] Had he won the tournament, he would have regained the number one ranking.

[edit] World Ranking

Westwood first reached the top 10 in the Official World Golf Rankings in July 1998[13] and spent a total of 160 weeks in the top 10 between then and August 2001.[14]

Westwood dropped out of top 100 in mid-2002. Returning to the top 100 in late 2003, Westwood's ranking remained in the 20 to 80 range from 2004 and 2007. Early in 2008 he returned to the top 20 where he has remained since. He returned to the top 10 briefly at the end of the 2008 season and again after the 2009 PGA Championship.[15]

On 31 October 2010, Westwood became the World number one golfer, ending the reign of Tiger Woods.[16][17] He remained World number one for 17 weeks,[18] before being replaced by Martin Kaymer who held the top spot for 8 weeks. Westwood regained the number one spot after winning the Indonesian Masters on 24 April 2011[19] and held it for 5 weeks before being replaced by Luke Donald. He has spent over 260 weeks in the top-10 through mid-2011.

[edit] Ryder Cup

Westwood made his Ryder Cup debut in 1997 where he partnered fellow Englishman Nick Faldo in both sets of fourballs and foursomes. In the 1999 Ryder Cup, he partnered Darren Clarke for the fourballs and foursomes, picking up 2 points. At The Belfry in 2002 he teamed up with Sergio García in a successful partnership in which they won 3 and lost 1 of their four matches. In the 2004 Ryder Cup, Westwood sank the putt which took Europe's points tally to 14 and thereby ensured that they retained the Cup. Europe eventually won 18½–9½. It was his first victory in singles. He and Darren Clarke were the wildcard selections in 2006[20] and Westwood justified his selection by not losing a game, a feat he had also achieved in 2004. He is the eighth most successful European golfer on points scored, with the second highest scoring rate.[21] During the 2008 Matches, Westwood sat out for the first session in his Ryder Cup career during the matches after a controversial decision by captain Nick Faldo. The European Team ended up losing to the U.S. 16½–11½.[22] In October 2010, Westwood was a member of the European team that won the 2010 Ryder Cup with a one point win over the USA.[23]

[edit] Personal life

Westwood married Laurae Coltart, the sister of Scottish Ryder Cup player Andrew Coltart,[24] in January 1999. The couple have two children, Samuel Bevan (born 2001) and Poppy Grace (born 2004). He is good friends with fellow Ryder Cup star Darren Clarke and from April 2006, he co-owns a private jet with him.[25]

In 2007, Westwood was presented with an Honorary degree of Doctor of Science by Nottingham Trent University.[26] The University named its sports hall after the golfer in October 2010.[26] He announced the creation of the Lee Westwood Academy on 5 February 2009, a set of three day academies across nine venues in England.[27] The Academy is sponsored by Ping, Solarsport, The Co-operative Group and the British Junior Golf Tour. In recognition of his work with young golfers, he was awarded with the Golf Foundation’s ‘Spirit of Golf’ Award just before the Open Championship, an award which was previously held by Gary Player and Tony Jacklin.[28] On 28 August 2010, Westwood officially opened his first, and one of the UK's few, golf schools. The school operates around a permanent two year schooling timetable, which encorporates practical golf and sport studies. Westwood's father always encouraged him to strive academically, and this ethos has been the background of the school. The school is also sponsored by Ping and Solarsport, along with UPS delivery services and Dunlop.[citation needed]

Westwood's interests include films, snooker and cars. He is also a big football fan who supports Nottingham Forest.[29] Westwood is a follower of Dumfries based football club Queen of the South,[30] most likely due to having Andrew Coltart for a brother-in-law, who himself is a passionate 'Doonhamer'.[31]

Westwood is represented by International Sports Management.[32]

Westwood was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours.[33]

Westwood claims, proudly, to have never read an entire book in his life.

[edit] Amateur wins

  • 1990 Peter McEvoy Trophy
  • 1992 Lagonda Trophy
  • 1993 British Youths Championship, Leven Gold Medal

[edit] Professional wins (37)

[edit] European Tour wins (21)

No. Date Tournament Winning Score Margin of
Victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 4 Aug 1996 Volvo Scandinavian Masters –7 (69-75-69-68=281) Playoff England Paul Broadhurst, England Russell Claydon
2 2 Nov 1997 Volvo Masters Andalucia –16 (65-67-68=200) 3 strokes Republic of Ireland Pádraig Harrington
3 1 Jun 1998 Deutsche Bank-SAP Open-TPC of Europe –23 (69-69-61-66=265) 1 stroke Northern Ireland Darren Clarke
4 7 Jun 1998 National Car Rental English Open –17 (68-68-67-68=271) 2 strokes Australia Greg Chalmers, Sweden Olle Karlsson
5 11 Jul 1998 The Standard Life Loch Lomond –8 (69-69-68-70=276) 4 strokes Australia Robert Allenby, Sweden Dennis Edlund,
England David Howell, Scotland Gary Orr,
Argentina Eduardo Romero, Wales Ian Woosnam
6 4 Oct 1998 Belgacom Open –16 (67-68-67-66=268) Playoff Sweden Fredrik Jacobson
7 25 Jul 1999 TNT Dutch Open –15 (72-68-66-63=269) 1 stroke Scotland Gary Orr
8 2 Aug 1999 Smurfit European Open –17 (69-67-70-65=271) 3 strokes Northern Ireland Darren Clarke, Australia Peter O'Malley
9 5 Sep 1999 Canon European Masters –14 (69-69-67-65=270) 2 strokes Denmark Thomas Bjørn
10 21 May 2000 Deutsche Bank-SAP Open TPC of Europe –15 (71-69-69-64=273) 3 strokes Italy Emanuele Canonica
11 25 Jun 2000 Compaq European Grand Prix –12 (68-68-70-70=276) 3 strokes Sweden Fredrik Jacobson
12 9 Jul 2000 Smurfit European Open –12 (71-68-71-66=276) 1 stroke Argentina Ángel Cabrera
13 6 Aug 2000 Volvo Scandinavian Masters –14 (63-67-69-71=270) 3 strokes New Zealand Michael Campbell
14 24 Sep 2000 Belgacom Open –18 (65-69-67-65=266) 4 strokes Argentina Eduardo Romero
15 31 Aug 2003 BMW International Open –19 (65-68-70-66=269) 3 strokes Germany Alex Čejka
16 28 Sep 2003 Dunhill Links Championship –21 (70-68-62-67=267) 1 stroke South Africa Ernie Els
17 13 May 2007 Valle Romano Open de Andalucia –20 (72-64-65-67=268) 2 strokes Sweden Fredrik Andersson Hed
18 23 Sep 2007 Quinn Direct British Masters –15 (68-70-70-65=273) 5 strokes England Ian Poulter
19 18 Oct 2009 Portugal Masters –23 (66-67-66-66=265) 2 strokes Italy Francesco Molinari
20 22 Nov 2009 Dubai World Championship –23 (66-69-66-64=265) 6 strokes England Ross McGowan
21 1 May 2011 Ballantine's Championship –12 (72-68-69-67=276) 1 stroke Spain Miguel Ángel Jiménez

European Tour playoff record (2–5)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1996 Volvo Scandinavian Masters England Paul Broadhurst, England Russell Claydon Won with birdie on second extra hole
Broadhurst eliminated with par on first
2 1998 Belgacom Open Sweden Fredrik Jacobson Won with birdie on first extra hole
3 2007 HSBC Champions England Ross Fisher, United States Phil Mickelson Mickelson won with birdie on second extra hole
4 2008 Quinn Insurance British Masters Spain Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño Lost to par on third extra hole
5 2009 Open de France ALSTOM Germany Martin Kaymer Lost to par on first extra hole
6 2010 Omega Dubai Desert Classic Spain Miguel Ángel Jiménez Lost to par on third extra hole
7 2011 BMW PGA Championship England Luke Donald Lost to birdie on first extra hole

[edit] PGA Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning Score Margin of
Victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 6 Apr 1998 Freeport-McDermott Classic –15 (69-68-67-69=273) 3 strokes United States Steve Flesch
2 13 Jun 2010 St. Jude Classic –10 (63-68-71-68=270) Playoff United States Robert Garrigus, Sweden Robert Karlsson

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2010 St. Jude Classic United States Robert Garrigus, Sweden Robert Karlsson Won with birdie on fourth extra hole
Garrigus eliminated with par on first hole

[edit] Japan Golf Tour wins (4)

No. Date Tournament Winning Score Margin of
Victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 10 Nov 1996 Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters –10 (68-70-68=206)* Playoff Italy Costantino Rocca, United States Jeff Sluman
2 16 Nov 1997 Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters –16 (68-68-65-71=272) 1 stroke Japan Masashi Ozaki, Japan Naomichi Ozaki
3 15 Nov 1998 Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters –13 (72-67-67-69=275) 2 strokes Japan Masashi Ozaki
4 22 Nov 1998 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament –13 (68-67-66-70=271) 3 strokes Northern Ireland Darren Clarke

* Note: The 1996 Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters was reduced to 54 holes.

[edit] Asian Tour wins (5)

[edit] Sunshine Tour wins (3)

[edit] PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

[edit] Other wins (2)

[edit] Results in major championships

Tournament 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
The Masters DNP DNP T24 44 T6
U.S. Open DNP DNP T19 T7 CUT
The Open Championship T96 CUT T10 T64 T18
PGA Championship DNP DNP T29 CUT T16
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
The Masters CUT DNP 44 DNP DNP CUT CUT T30 T11 43
U.S. Open T5 CUT DNP DNP T36 T33 DNP T36 3 T23
The Open Championship T64 T47 CUT CUT 4 CUT T31 T35 T67 T3
PGA Championship T15 T44 CUT CUT CUT T17 T29 T32 CUT T3
Tournament 2010 2011
The Masters 2 T11
U.S. Open T16 T3
The Open Championship 2 CUT
PGA Championship DNP T8

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10

[edit] Summary

  • Tournaments played: 55
  • Wins: 0
  • 2nd: 2
  • 3rd: 4
  • Top 10s: 12
  • Top 25s: 22
  • Missed cuts: 15
  • Most consecutive cuts made: 9

[edit] Results in World Golf Championship events

Tournament 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Accenture Match Play Championship R64 R32 DNP R32 DNP R64 R32 R64 R64 R32
Cadillac Championship T4 2 NT1 DNP T35 T13 T51 T32 DNP T34
Bridgestone Invitational T33 T20 WD T15 T46 T9 T24 WD T22 T2
Tournament 2009 2010 2011 2012
Accenture Match Play Championship R32 R32 R32 4
Cadillac Championship T61 T30 T18
Bridgestone Invitational 9 WD T9
HSBC Champions T8 2 T13

1Cancelled due to 11 September attacks
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
WD = Withdrew
NT = No tournament
Yellow background for top-10.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

[edit] Equipment

  • Driver – Ping G10
  • Woods – Ping i15(3) and Ping Rapture V2(5)
  • Irons – Ping i10
  • Wedges – Ping Tour-W
  • Putter – Ping Redwood Anser

[edit] Team appearances

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Facey, David (1 Nov 2010). "Westy is a smash hit". The Sun. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/golf/3205345/Lee-Westwood-is-top-of-the-shops.html. Retrieved 31 January 2011. 
  2. ^ "Week 4 2008 Rankings". Official World Golf Rankings. 28 January 2008. http://dps.twiihosting.net/wgr/doc/content/archive/2008/owgr04f2008.pdf. 
  3. ^ "Westwood Hails US Open Campaign". BBC Sport. 16 June 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/7456075.stm. 
  4. ^ "Westwood secures Portugal victory". BBC Sport. 18 October 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/8313438.stm. Retrieved 24 October 2009. 
  5. ^ "Lee Westwood wins Race to Dubai title". BBC Sport. 22 November 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/8372981.stm. Retrieved 22 November 2009. 
  6. ^ Reason, Mark (11 April 2010). "Masters 2010: Phil Mickelson holds off Lee Westwood to claim third green jacket". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/mastersaugusta/7579868/Masters-2010-Phil-Mickelson-holds-off-Lee-Westwood-to-claim-third-green-jacket.html. Retrieved 12 April 2010. 
  7. ^ Walker, Teresa (13 June 2010). "Westwood wins 2nd PGA title in playoff in Memphis". Yahoo News. AP (Memphis). http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100613/ap_on_sp_go_su/glf_st_jude_classic_1. Retrieved 13 June 2010. [dead link]
  8. ^ "Donald overtakes Westwood at the top of the world rankings.". BBC Sport. 29 May 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/13590209.stm. Retrieved 29 May 2011. 
  9. ^ "Lee Westwood leads after shooting career-best 60 in Thailand". BBC Sport. 15 December 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/16197335.stm. Retrieved 17 December 2011. 
  10. ^ "Lee Westwood follows career-best 60 with round of 64". BBC Sport. 16 December 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/16214856.stm. Retrieved 17 December 2011. 
  11. ^ "Lee Westwood triumphs by seven shots at the Thailand Open". BBC Sport. 18 December 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/16235688.stm. Retrieved 19 December 2011. 
  12. ^ "Lee Westwood makes run to semis in WGC Match Play". PGA Tour. 26 February 2012. http://www.worldgolfchampionships.com/leaderboards/current/r470/. Retrieved 27 February 2012. 
  13. ^ Official World Golf Ranking – 12 July 1998
  14. ^ Official World Golf Ranking – 5 August 2001
  15. ^ "Week Ending 16 August 2009". Official World Golf Ranking. 16 August 2009. http://dps.twiihosting.net/wgr/doc/content/archive/2009/owgr33f2009.pdf. Retrieved 18 August 2009. 
  16. ^ Lee Westwood becomes world number one as Kaymer falters BBC Sport, 31 October 2010
  17. ^ Garside, Kevin (1 November 2010). "Lee Westwood wrests world No 1 ranking off Tiger Woods". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/europeantour/8100436/Lee-Westwood-wrests-world-No-1-ranking-off-Tiger-Woods.html. Retrieved 9 November 2010. 
  18. ^ Official World Golf Ranking – 31 October 2010
  19. ^ "Lee Westwood wins Indonesian Masters to regain top spot". BBC News. 24 April 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/13180346.stm. Retrieved 24 May 2011. 
  20. ^ "Clarke and Westwood confirmed as Ryder Cup wildcards". Irish Independent. 3 September 2006. http://www.unison.ie/breakingnews/index.php3?ca=98&si=97850. 
  21. ^ "European players record". Ryder Cup. 7 March 2008. http://www.rydercup.com/2008/europe/history/player_records.html. 
  22. ^ "Westwood targets Faldo's record". This is London. 7 March 2008. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/article-23449939-details/Westwood+targeting+Faldo%27s+Ryder+Cup+record/article.do. 
  23. ^ Dorman, Larry (4 October 2010). "McDowell Lifts Europe to Ryder Cup Victory". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/sports/golf/05ryder.html?src=mv. Retrieved 4 October 2010. 
  24. ^ Lee Westwood BBC Sport, 18 September 2006
  25. ^ "The Man". Lee Westwood Archive Site. http://www.westyuk.com/default1.htm. Retrieved 22 November 2007. 
  26. ^ a b "University names sports hall after golfer Lee Westwood". BBC News. 22 October 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-11604502. Retrieved 31 October 2010. 
  27. ^ "Lee Westwood Golf Academy". Lee Westwood (ISM). 2009. http://www.leewestwood.com/golf-academy.html. Retrieved 29 July 2009. 
  28. ^ "Westwood recognised for contribution to junior golf". The Open. http://www.opengolf.com/ChampionshipGolf/TheOpenChampionship/News.aspx?story=Westwood+recognised+for+contribution+to+junior+golf. Retrieved 29 July 2009. [dead link]
  29. ^ Lee Westwood remains close to his family values Times Online, 15 September 2008
  30. ^ http://twitter.com/#!/WestwoodLee/status/128076745713795074
  31. ^ In Brief: Lee Westwood, Sir Alex Ferguson" 31 Oct 2011
  32. ^ ISM: Westy will be fit for Ryder Cup Golf365, 14 September 2010
  33. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59808. p. 13. 11 June 2011. Lee Westwood receives an OBE from The Queen, Short movie from The Royal Channel

[edit] External links

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