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.

Professional career

In 1996, Westwood 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 23 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 Andalucía 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 Ranking. 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. 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.

In 2009, Westwood had two further 3rd-place finishes at major championships, 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. 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.

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. Westwood came through with his 2nd tour victory at the St. Jude Classic the week before the U.S. Open. 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 then holed his birdie putt to win the championship and in the process became the new world number one.

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. He followed that up with a 64 to equal the lowest 36-hole total on the Asian Tour and won the tournament by seven shots.

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 reached 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. Had he won the tournament, he would have regained the number one ranking.

Westwood continued his fine run of performances in the major championships with a tied third finish at the Masters in April 2012. He finished two strokes behind Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen and bemoaned his putting performance as the reason he did not win the tournament. This was the seventh occasion that he had recorded a top three finish at a major without actually winning one. In April 2012, he successfully defended his title at the Indonesian Masters on the Asian Tour, winning by two strokes. In June 2012, Westwood won the Nordea Masters for the third time, the week prior to the U.S Open, with a five stroke victory over Ross Fisher. This was Westwood's 22nd victory on the European Tour and moved him into ninth place alone on the all time European Tour winners list.

At the 2012 U.S. Open, Westwood was in contention again after firing a three-under-par round of 67 in the third round to position himself three strokes behind the leaders. During the final round, Westwood lost his ball in a tree on the par-four fifth hole after his drive clattered into the pines. The ball was declared lost and he had to play his third shot from the tee, resulting in a double-bogey six which effectively ended his challenge. He finished in a tie for 10th.

In the 2013 Open Championship, Westwood led after 54 holes by two strokes over Hunter Mahan and Tiger Woods. They were the only three players in the field under par for the tournament. Westwood shot a four-over-par 75 in his final round to finish in a tie for third, four strokes back at one-over-par. Phil Mickelson went on to win the tournament with a total of three-under-par, the only player to complete the tournament under par. This was the second time Westwood had taken the lead into the final round of a major championship, with the other being in the 2010 Masters, which Mickelson also won. Westwood has now finished in the top-three eight times in majors without ever winning one.

In April 2015, Westwood won the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters for the third time in his career. He won in a sudden-death playoff over Chapchai Nirat, having held a five-stroke lead at the 54-hole stage. This was Westwood's ninth victory in Asian Tour events.

At the 2016 Masters, Westwood finished joint runner-up with Jordan Spieth, three strokes behind winner Danny Willett. He was briefly only one stroke off the lead during the final round following an eagle on the par five 15th, but bogeyed the 16th to end his chances. This was the third time Westwood has finished as runner-up in a major championship.

World ranking

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

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.

On 31 October 2010, Westwood became the World number one golfer, ending the reign of Tiger Woods. He remained World number one for 17 weeks, 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 and held it for 5 weeks before being replaced by Luke Donald. He has spent over 310 weeks in the top-10 through mid-2012.

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 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.

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. 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.

He is the European player who has the greatest number of participations in Ryder Cup winning teams (7 wins, 2 losses).

Singles: Played 7, Won 2, Lost 5, Halved 0 Foursomes: Played 13, Won 7, Lost 2, Halved 4 Fourballs: Played 13, Won 7, Lost 4, Halved 2

Personal life

Westwood married Laurae Coltart, the sister of Scottish Ryder Cup player Andrew Coltart, in January 1999. The couple have two children, Samuel Bevan and Poppy Grace. He is good friends with fellow Ryder Cup star Darren Clarke and from April 2006 he co-owned a private jet with him. The family live in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida in a house overlooking the 14th green of the Old Palm Golf Club.

In 2007, Westwood was presented with an Honorary degree of Doctor of Science by Nottingham Trent University. The University named its sports hall after the golfer in October 2010. He announced the creation of the Lee Westwood Golf School in 2010, which offers young golfers the ability to combine golf training with their education as part of their school life. In addition, since 2010 Westwood has created a Junior Lee Westwood Golf Tour and Lee Westwood Golf Camps. 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.

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

Westwood is represented by International Sports Management.

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

Amateur wins (4)

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

Professional wins (42)

European Tour wins (23)

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	Paul Broadhurst, Russell Claydon
2	2 Nov 1997	Volvo Masters Andalucia	−16 (65-67-68=200)	3 strokes	Pádraig Harrington
3	1 Jun 1998	Deutsche Bank-SAP Open-TPC of Europe	−23 (69-69-61-66=265)	1 stroke	Darren Clarke
4	7 Jun 1998	National Car Rental English Open	−17 (68-68-67-68=271)	2 strokes	Greg Chalmers, Olle Karlsson
5	11 Jul 1998	The Standard Life Loch Lomond	−8 (69-69-68-70=276)	4 strokes	Robert Allenby, Dennis Edlund, David Howell, Gary Orr, Eduardo Romero, Ian Woosnam
6	4 Oct 1998	Belgacom Open	−16 (67-68-67-66=268)	Playoff	Fredrik Jacobson
7	25 Jul 1999	TNT Dutch Open	−15 (72-68-66-63=269)	1 stroke	Gary Orr
8	2 Aug 1999	Smurfit European Open	−17 (69-67-70-65=271)	3 strokes	Darren Clarke, Peter O'Malley
9	5 Sep 1999	Canon European Masters	−14 (69-69-67-65=270)	2 strokes	Thomas Bjørn
10	21 May 2000	Deutsche Bank-SAP Open TPC of Europe	−15 (71-69-69-64=273)	3 strokes	Emanuele Canonica
11	25 Jun 2000	Compaq European Grand Prix	−12 (68-68-70-70=276)	3 strokes	Fredrik Jacobson
12	9 Jul 2000	Smurfit European Open	−12 (71-68-71-66=276)	1 stroke	Ángel Cabrera
13	6 Aug 2000	Volvo Scandinavian Masters	−14 (63-67-69-71=270)	3 strokes	Michael Campbell
14	24 Sep 2000	Belgacom Open	−18 (65-69-67-65=266)	4 strokes	Eduardo Romero
15	31 Aug 2003	BMW International Open	−19 (65-68-70-66=269)	3 strokes	Alex Čejka
16	28 Sep 2003	Dunhill Links Championship	−21 (70-68-62-67=267)	1 stroke	Ernie Els
17	13 May 2007	Valle Romano Open de Andalucia	−20 (72-64-65-67=268)	2 strokes	Fredrik Andersson Hed
18	23 Sep 2007	Quinn Direct British Masters	−15 (68-70-70-65=273)	5 strokes	Ian Poulter
19	18 Oct 2009	Portugal Masters	−23 (66-67-66-66=265)	2 strokes	Francesco Molinari
20	22 Nov 2009	Dubai World Championship	−23 (66-69-66-64=265)	6 strokes	Ross McGowan
21	1 May 2011	Ballantine's Championship1	−12 (72-68-69-67=276)	1 stroke	Miguel Ángel Jiménez
22	9 Jun 2012	Nordea Masters	−19 (68-64-68-69=269)	5 strokes	Ross Fisher
23	20 Apr 2014	Maybank Malaysian Open1	−18 (65-66-71-68=270)	7 strokes	Nicolas Colsaerts, Louis Oosthuizen, Bernd Wiesberger

1 Co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour

European Tour playoff record (2-5)

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

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	Steve Flesch
2	13 Jun 2010	St. Jude Classic	−10 (63-68-71-68=270)	Playoff	Robert Garrigus, Robert Karlsson

PGA Tour playoff record (1-0)

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

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	Costantino Rocca, Jeff Sluman
2	16 Nov 1997	Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters	−16 (68-68-65-71=272)	1 stroke	Masashi Ozaki, Naomichi Ozaki
3	15 Nov 1998	Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters	−13 (72-67-67-69=275)	2 strokes	Masashi Ozaki
4	22 Nov 1998	Dunlop Phoenix Tournament	−13 (68-67-66-70=271)	3 strokes	Darren Clarke

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

Asian Tour wins (9)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Mar 1997	Malaysian Open	−14 (64-72-69-69=274)	2 strokes	Larry Barber
2	18 Apr 1999	Macau Open	−9 (66-69-70-70=275)	Playoff	Andrew Pitts
3	24 Apr 2011	Indonesian Masters	−19 (68-66-66-69=269)	3 strokes	Thongchai Jaidee
4	1 May 2011	Ballantine's Championship1	−12 (72-68-69-67=276)	1 stroke	Miguel Ángel Jiménez
5	18 Dec 2011	Thailand Golf Championship	−22 (60-64-73-69=266)	7 strokes	Charl Schwartzel
6	22 Apr 2012	CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters	−16 (65-68-65-74=272)	2 strokes	Thaworn Wiratchant
7	20 Apr 2014	Maybank Malaysian Open1	−18 (65-66-71-68=270)	7 strokes	Nicolas Colsaerts, Louis Oosthuizen, Bernd Wiesberger
8	14 Dec 2014	Thailand Golf Championship	−8 (70-71-72-67=280)	1 stroke	Marcus Fraser, Martin Kaymer
9	26 Apr 2015	CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters	−7 (69-74-65-73=281)	Playoff	Chapchai Nirat

1 Co-sanctioned with the European Tour

Sunshine Tour wins (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	6 Feb 2000	Dimension Data Pro-Am	−14 (68-67-69-70=274)	5 strokes	Tom Gillis
2	9 Dec 2010	Nedbank Golf Challenge	−17 (68-64-71-68=271)	8 strokes	Tim Clark
3	7 Dec 2011	Nedbank Golf Challenge	−15 (68-70-62-73=273)	2 strokes	Robert Karlsson

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	30 Nov 1997	Holden Australian Open	−14 (68-66-68-72=274)	playoff	Greg Norman

Other wins (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	9 Oct 2000	Cisco World Match Play Championship1	38 holes		Colin Montgomerie
2	16 Nov 2003	Nelson Mandela Invitational (with Simon Hobday)2	−15 (65-64=129)	2 strokes	Tim Clark & Hugh Baiocchi

1 Unofficial money event on the European Tour.
2 Unofficial money event on the Sunshine Tour.

Results in major championships

Tournament	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament	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
Masters Tournament	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	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Masters Tournament	2	T11	T3	T8	7	T46	T2
U.S. Open	T16	T3	T10	T15	CUT	T50
The Open Championship	2	CUT	T45	T3	CUT	T49
PGA Championship	DNP	T8	CUT	T33	T15	T43

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

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	2	1	3	6	9	17	14
U.S. Open	0	0	2	3	5	9	16	13
The Open Championship	0	1	2	4	5	6	21	15
PGA Championship	0	0	1	1	2	6	18	12
Totals	0	3	6	11	18	30	72	54

• Most consecutive cuts made - 9 (twice)
• Longest streak of top-10s - 3 (twice)

Results in World Golf Championship events

Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.

Tournament	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Dell Match Play	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	2013	2014	2015	2016
Cadillac Championship	T61	T30	T18	T29	T25	T34	T12	DNP
Dell Match Play	R32	R32	R32	4	R64	R64	R16	T38
Bridgestone Invitational	9	WD	T9	70	T40	T19	T17
HSBC Champions	T8	2	T13	T6	T55	T20	T51

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.

Career earnings and year-end ranking by year

Season	PGA Tour ($)	Rank	European Tour (€)	Rank	OWGR
					Avg. points	Rank
1994			171,251	43	1.04	252
1995	6,380	266	112,608	75	0.67	258
1996			600,171	6	2.45	64
1997	155,645	138	824,205	3	5.26	23
1998	599,586	46	1,140,141	3	8.65	8
1999	384,097	106	1,320,805	2	7.85	6
2000	293,303	n/a†	3,125,147	1	9.46	5
2001	76,821	n/a†	390,613	52	3.26	28
2002	94,710	n/a†	308,339	75	0.84	182
2003	63,590	n/a†	1,330,713	7	2.00	65
2004	526,899	n/a†	1,592,766	7	3.21	24
2005	501,267	142	724,865	27	2.57	41
2006	630,566	130	960,304	24	2.39	49
2007	288,280	177	1,420,327	10	3.27	23
2008	1,550,880	57	2,424,642	3	4.73	10
2009	1,085,414	n/a†	4,237,762	1	6.60	4
2010	3,399,954	n/a†	3,222,423	3	9.24	1
2011	970,446	n/a†	2,439,601	5	8.06	2
2012	3,016,569	24	1,671,456	12	6.03	7
2013	2,081,731	31	1,299,694	15	3.69	25
2014	1,223,104	85	1,072,448	27	3.28	26
2015	946,628	108	936,845	38
Total*	17,895,871	71	31,301,137	1

*As of 22 November 2015.
†Non-member earnings.

Team appearances

• Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1997 (winners), 1999, 2002 (winners), 2004 (winners), 2006 (winners), 2008, 2010 (winners), 2012 (winners), 2014 (winners)

Ryder Cup points record

1997	1999	2002	2004	2006	2008	2010	2012	2014	Total
2	2	3	4.5	4	1	2.5	2	2	23

• Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing England): 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
• Seve Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2000, 2002 (winners), 2003 (winners), 2011 (winners)
• Royal Trophy (representing Europe): 2007 (winners)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]