Lee Westwood

Lee Westwood

Born: April 24, 1973
Age: 51
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Biography

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 five continents - Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Australia - including victories on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. (Only four golfers - Player, Irwin, Langer and Graham - have won on six continents.) Westwood 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. Westwood has frequently been mentioned as one of the best golfers without a major championship victory, despite several near misses including three runner-up finishes.

He has represented Europe for the last eight Ryder Cups. In October 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.

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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 ]


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