Lee Westwood MY CAREER MILESTONES

As another new season gets underway, I thought I’d look back at some of the defining moments of my professional career to date...

When I turned professional in 1993, I couldn’t have imagined that I’d go on to enjoy so many memorable moments playing the sport I love. I’ve been able to achieve a number of things I’m very proud of during the course of my career and I thought I’d use this column to reflect on some of them.

I’m often asked what the proudest moment of my career is, and for me it’s getting to World No.1, no question about it. I was standing in the supermarket – I wasn’t even playing that week – when my dad called me and said I was going to go to the top of the rankings in the morning. Martin Kaymer, who was ranked third in the world at the time, had to finish first or second at Valderrama to stop me going to number one, and he wasn’t going to. I just had to stand there and pinch myself for a second. Not many people get to say they are the best in the world at something. It was surreal.

I was inundated with media requests at that point, and I ended up getting a lot of attention from national outlets, going to Sky and BBC studios and doing interviews left right and centre. The perception of you certainly changes, despite the fact I’d had a very successful career up to that point. When you’re the best player in the world, you’re representing the game of golf and it elevates you to another level.

But that all came in 2011, some 15 years after my first European Tour victory at the Scandinavian Masters. My first full year on the European Tour was in 1994 and I’d had a couple of chances to win in 1996 before I got over the line for the first time. The conditions were tricky and I hung in there all week, eventually getting myself in a play-off with Russell Claydon and Paul Broadhurst. It was 23 years ago so I don’t remember everything about it, but I do recall holing a long putt on the second extra hole to win.

It was definitely a mix of relief and enjoyment and it gave me a taste for winning. I enjoyed the experience and I just wanted to do it more often. I won again towards the end of 1996 in Japan and then came out and triumphed in Malaysia early in 1997. From that moment on, I just started getting into the habit of winning.

Obviously when you’re winning tournaments regularly, you start making Ryder Cup teams. Competing in ten over the years – second only to Nick Faldo in Europe – is something I’m proud of as it means I’ve played well over a long period of time, which isn’t easy. I’ve had a lot of different partners, too, which means my captains have been happy to pair me with anyone – something else that makes me proud.

I obviously have a lot of memories from the Ryder Cup, but two that spring to mind are beating Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson alongside Darren Clarke in 2004 at Oakland Hills, and being on the first tee alongside Darren at the K Club in 2006, not long after he’d lost his wife Heather. It was very emotional.

Over the years, I’ve won 24 European Tour events, the first coming in 1996 and the most recent in 2018. That puts me inside the top ten all-time, and not many people can say they’ve won events in three different decades. I’ve actually won the same event, the Scandinavian Masters, in three different decades, too! I’ll be 47 by the time 2020 rolls around, so I’ll have a chance of adding a win in a fourth decade. That would be quite something.

I’m also often asked what the best year of my career has been. It’s hard to decide between 1998 and 2000, because I won eight events in each of those years. I slipped up in 1999, only winning four times! Some people win three or four times in a career, if that, so to get eight in two different seasons was a proud achievement. I’ve also managed to claim two titles in America – the first coming in New Orleans in 1998, when I actually had a double-hit in the final round! – and numerous others in Asia, so I’ve proved myself as a global player.

All of these memories spur me on and I feel like I’ve got some good golf left in me. I didn’t do a great deal of practice over the festive period, but everything feels good and I’m hitting the ball well. I wouldn’t say I expect to come out and play well, but I also don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t. By the time you read this, I’ll already have started my season in the Middle East. I typically play well in the desert, so hopefully I’ll have some more good finishes to discuss next month.

“I just had to stand there and pinch myself. Not many people get to say they are the best in the world at something. It was surreal”