WESTWOOD CAN STILL BE GEORGIA BEST SAYS BJORN
RYDER CUP captain Thomas Bjorn reckons Lee Westwood becomes a different player when he tees up at Augusta – and only a “fool” would write off the veteran this week.
The Worksop Wonder, now 43, is the oldest of the record 11 Englishmen to play the first Major of the season.
He went close to winning his first Major last year when runner-up to his playing partner Danny Willett.
Westwood was also second to Phil Mickelson in 2010 despite posting a 13-under par score which would have won many Masters.
Bjorn said: “Augusta has always suited his game and Lee is the type of person to take to certain things.
“The Ryder Cup is one of those and Augusta is another – it always seems to awaken that little something inside of him.
“I have noticed that Lee always seems a little bit different here – more determined, more focused.
“I think that is because he knows he can do well around a golf course that he loves. He is one of the best golfers I have ever played with and anybody who writes him off is a fool. I have always said there is no other player in the world I would rather see win a Major than him.” Westwood (below, with Willett) has 14 top-10 finishes in Majors and made the cut in all four last year. This season he has slipped down to No.54 in the rankings, but he insisted: “I’ve been playing solid without getting full results from the way I’m playing. “Even when I’m not playing that well I can usually get it around Augusta. It is a course where experience counts and I have now got quite a lot after playing here 17 times. “This is a special place. I draw inspiration from the results over the last seven years, not just what happened last year. “You really don’t know how long you can go on for. I can’t see them making Augusta any shorter, the only stumbling block would be when you start hitting it shorter because it is a long course already. “But I still get it out there far enough. And I know how to play this golf course.”