Westwood is European king at 47
20 years after his first Order of Merit title, Westwood is again…
DAYS in the desert don’t come more satisfying t han this. An afternoon of excruciating tension ended in glory for Matt Fitzpatrick in a superb DP World Tour Championship and the evergreen Lee Westwood in the Race to Dubai.
Poor Captain America. Patrick Reed was sent packing without either of the prizes he craved, buckling under the strain of pressure applied by two men from different generations.
There’s surely not a golf fan alive who won’t feel pleased for Westwood. Who would have thought it possible for a man aged 47 to win a season-long race? Previously the oldest winner of a competition dating back to 1937 was 42-year- old Colin Montgomerie in 2005.
‘ I’m simply ecstatic,’ said Westwood. ‘I had to finish in the top two in the last event to have a chance and I’m really proud I pulled it off.’
When the European Tour was in a state in April and losing events by the day, Westwood rang CEO Keith Pelley.
‘He asked me what he could do to help and where would I like him to play,’ Pelley revealed. Westwood pitched up to so many events, he turned up in Dubai with a bad back.
‘I’ll have another now after lifting that massive Race to Dubai trophy,’ he laughed.
He earned it not just with his loyalty but his play. He began in January with a win in Abu Dhabi and had six top 20 finishes in a row during the summer.
Ultimately, it came down to the closing three holes, going birdie, par, birdie, holing three putts which illustrated how he has rediscovered the nerve that made him such a prolific winner. At the 18th, a greenside bunker shot set up his final birdie.
Reed finished tied third with Norwegian Vi k t o r Hovl a n d , bogeying the 16th and 17th, his fate sealed before a chipin to birdie the last. Westwood still needed a bit of help to stop Fitzpatrick nicking the Race to Dubai as well. A clear runner-up finish was required and he was in third when he walked off the 18th green.
He sat in a small television room and tried to switch off. He talked about how bad his beloved Nottingham Forest are at present. Had we seen his horse run on Saturday, he asked. Anything to take his mind away. ‘I’m getting too old for all this,’ he said. It was the unfortunate Laurie Canter who provided t he release. What a performance otherwise from the 31-year-old Englishman. Only at the 17th did he buckle with a double bogey — he eventually settled for fifth place — but that was all Westy needed. Twenty years after his first Order of Merit success, he had his third. Playing alongside Canter, Fitzpatrick was feeling t he heat himself, despite his run of four successive bi r di e s to start. He was three clear at one poi n t but had just a single shot to spare after a bogey at the 17th. To his relief, a par at the l ast was good enough for his second win in this event in five editions. ‘I’m thrilled to win it again, it adds gloss to my season,’ he said. ‘I had a poor campaign after my first win in 2016 but I intend to work hard over the off-season. This time, I want to build on the momentum.’
Veteran caddy, Billy Foster, who looped for Westwood for so many years, was beside himself. Entitled to ten per cent of the winner’s cheque, which he thought was $1million, he could barely believe it when told he would, in f act, be getting $300,000 as his share of the actual prize of $3m.
‘ Show me t he money!’ screamed the Yorkshireman in delight, before adding: ‘Let’s get hammered!’
Robert MacIntyre, sadly, was drowning his sorrows as the Scot’s otherwise promising week ended with a 77 that left him in a tie for 23rd, the chance of a spot in the world’s top 50 slipping away.
‘You’re fighting to win and you finish disastrous,’ the Oban lefthander sighed. ‘The putter just didn’t show up today so I’m disappointed but I have to go away from this and learn.’