This is my job... I do it for money
Westwood defends right to play for £20m in Saudi-backed event
LEE WESTWOOD offered a passionate rebuttal to accusations of disloyalty yesterday after confirming his intention to play in the inaugural saudibacked LIV series event at the Centurion Club in st Albans next month.
Breaking his silence on the subject, the 49-year-old claimed that he was just ‘one of many’ players who have asked for releases from the dP World tour — formerly the european tour — to compete in the renegade tournament.
Keith Pelley, Ceo of the dP World tour, sent an email to every player last month urging them not to compete in the saudi series, arguing it posed an existential threat to the circuit he represents.
If Westwood is right, Pelley’s pleas have fallen on deaf ears, with the former making no bones about the fact that playing for a monstrous prize fund of £20million — double the previous record for an event staged in Britain — was far too tempting to resist.
By way of stark contrast, the competing event on the dP World Tour, the scandinavian Mixed, will offer prize money of £1.6m.
‘I think if I said to some of the mates I grew up playing with in Worksop that I have the opportunity to play in a 48-man tournament offering $25m, they’d take me to one side and say, “What exactly is there to think about?” ’ commented Westwood.
‘this is my job. I do this for money. It’s not the only reason for doing it. But if anyone comes along and offers us a pay rise, you have to seriously consider it.’
Westwood hinted that he will also play in the other seven events scheduled worldwide by saudi frontman Greg Norman, with five of them taking place in America.
It would lead to a ban from the PGA tour but, at this stage of his career, that is clearly something Westwood can live with.
‘I’ve never been driven by playing on the PGA tour like a lot of the guys,’ he said. ‘even when I won over there in 1998, I didn’t take up my card. My goal has always been to support the european tour and to dip in and out over there. It’s been their kind of goal to get me to play on the PGA tour.’
How does he feel about the threat that competing in the saudi events would preclude him from ever being europe’s Ryder Cup captain?
‘that’s for somebody else to decide, isn’t it?’ he said. ‘I’ve supported the european tour for the last 29 years. the first time I ever played in saudi Arabia it was an event on the european tour, so they have no problem where the money has come from.
‘All the reports I’ve read from LIV golf say they just want to stand side by side, they’re not going up against any really massive events on the european tour.
‘People always have a problem with change but I believe it shakes things up and keeps everyone on their toes.’