WESTWOOD’S BID TO WIN IN HIS 50s
lEE WESTWOOd was voted the European Tour’s golfer of the year for a fourth time yesterday and outlined his belief that he can continue competing with the best well into his fifties. The 47-year-old collected the accolade on the back of winning the Race to dubai, formerly the Order of Merit, for the first time since 2009. It was a stunning return to prominence for the world no 36, who had fallen outside the top 100 in 2018. ‘It’s nice to have won this for a fourth time,’ said Westwood, who was also voted golfer of the year in 1998, 2000 and 2009. ‘It’s not the sort of thing you expect to be doing at 47 years of age — you should be slowing down. ‘We’re all getting older. I am 48 in april, but I like to embrace it and do it for the older lads and prove you can still play good golf into your late forties. Bernhard langer (63) is an inspiration to all of us. He keeps his freshness and enthusiasm, he’s still probably the hardest worker in the room. Why not? It is nice (when beating younger players) to be thinking,
“You weren’t born when I won my first tournament”, I must admit. ‘lockdown gave me an opportunity to think about my fitness. It’s paying off very early, but it could pay off into the next few years. ‘I don’t see why I couldn’t play well into my fifties. not just a couple of last hurrahs.’ The looming goal for Westwood, alongside the ongoing question of a first major victory, is whether he can qualify to play in an 11th Ryder Cup next September. He was a vice-captain to Thomas Bjorn in 2018, and it was widely expected that he would fill the same role under Padraig Harrington at Whistling Straits. However, his results this year have sharply elevated his prospects. Westwood said: ‘If I qualify for the team, I’d be delighted. But I’ve seen the other side of the coin. I’ve been a vice-captain and I’d be delighted to be involved that way. ‘There’s no pressure on me. I’ve already pencilled that week in — I’ll be there in some capacity. It’d be nice to be hitting the ball, but if I’m not, I’m not.’