Lee Westwood US Masters Golfers
English golfer, Lee Westwood has had a terrible time of it until quite recently. The 30-year old used to win seven tournaments a year, but he hasn’t racked up a win for over 35 months now. He was once ranked Europe’s number one and the world no.4, but he has plummeted down the charts reaching the lowest ranking in his career at no.246!
The man who used to feature on the cover of American golfing magazines sporting the headlines: “Will Lee Westwood become the next foreigner to win a Green Jacket”, is amazingly pragmatic about his slump. “Do I love the game as much? No question, I wouldn’t be playing now if I didn’t. Am I still ambitious? More so than ever; I’ve tasted it before and I know exactly what I’m missing,” he said.
Thankfully Lee Westwood seems to be breaking his elongated drought. At the 2007 British Masters at the Belfry, Westwood was one of only a dozen players to break par. He has achieved top-ten finishes in his past couple of tournaments and is in great form. He gives all the credit to a fellow pro, Mark Roe, who has helped him with his short game.
“Chipping has always been my weakness but he’s given me a lot of variety around the greens,” Westwood said. “It’s spread through my whole game. If you have the confidence getting up and down, you can be more aggressive to fire at flags.”
His charge up the world rankings began in 1999 when he briefly led at the US Masters on the final day, eventually finishing 6th. In 2000 he dethroned Colin Montgomerie as Europe’s no.1, came in the Top 20 on several occasions, finished fifth at the US Open and his world ranking rocketed to no.4.
In 2001 and 2002 the real slump began. His ranking was in freefall and he just couldn’t do anything right. He slipped down to 75th in Order of Merit and eventually approached David Leadbetter for help. But even the renowned coach couldn’t stop Westwood missing the cut at the Portuguese Open. He played rounds of 81 and 79, the worst 36-hole total of his professional career. From the bottom, there is only one way, and that’s up.
The man has a fantastic pedigree, his best results in majors are: Masters – T6 in ’99, US Open – T5 in 2000, British Open – 4th in ’04 and PGA championship – T15 in 2000. Lee Westwood, US Masters player? Why not, he’s on the resurgence and cornered men are always the most dangerous. He could well become the next foreigner to take that Green Jacket.
How do you rate Lee Westwood and other US Masters golfers this year?