Westwood returns to another high level at Masters
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Lee Westwood tees off at the 12th hole during the second round of The Masters in Augusta, Ga., Friday.
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AUGUSTA, Ga. -- For a player whose mental tenacity is considered his badge of honor, Lee Westwood had a hard time forgetting what happened 11 years ago.
With nine holes to go and in genuine contention at the 1999 Masters, England's little bulldog was standing on the 10th tee at the Augusta National Golf Club, shaking like one of the Georgia pines in a windstorm. Having convinced himself he could not play the course well enough to win, Westwood admitted he felt "like throwing up" while waiting to descend into Amen Corner.
There is little of that doubt now.
"That's the first time I had ever experienced a lead in a major championship," Westwood said. "So it's bound to come as a bit of a shock."
Not much should bother Westwood now. Not sharing the 36-hole lead with countryman Ian Poulter at the 74th Masters, not having Tiger Woods lurking today in the twosome behind him, not even the pressure of trying to end England's 14-year drought in major championships.
It is time, he said, to stop talking about the renaissance of English golf. And time for an Englishman to win a major, something nobody has done since Nick Faldo at the 1996 Masters.
"We're not up at the top of the world rankings by mistake, you know," Westwood said. "But we ought to be contending in these major championships, in these biggest events, where the best players should contend."
It could be Westwood, who is as tenacious as a tax collector.
Players with weak stomachs don't slip to No. 246 in the world rankings -- as Westwood did in 2002 -- and then climb back to No. 4. That is where Westwood stands today after an eight-year fight to rediscover his dedication and reinvent his ability to win.
After winning the European's Race to Dubai in 2009, the PGA Tour's equivalent of the FedEx Cup, Westwood has re-established himself as England's best player. To be sure, he is certainly the best to never win a major.
He is getting closer, though.
A missed birdie at the final hole in the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines kept him out of the epic playoff with Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate.
Last year, a three-putt bogey at the 72nd hole kept him out of the playoff with Tom Watson and Stewart Cink at the British Open.
First Published April 10, 2010 12:00 am
