Lee puts hand up for 2020 Ryder job
LEE WESTWOOD yesterday became the first man to throw his hat into the ring to be europe’s Ryder Cup captain in 2020, which ought to save everyone else the bother.
When you’ve played in nine Ryder Cups and been on the winning side a record seven times, you’ve surely earned the right to jump the queue.
The popular englishman will be 43 next month and, while his immediate focus is on the Houston Open here this week followed by what might be a last waltz around Augusta National, it’ s hardly surprising he’s mapped out his future.
‘I’d like to go on a little longer,’ he said. ‘Two or three years and then I can think about the captaincy. If I put my name in to do the job in four years I can think about the seniors after that.’
Westwood got into the Masters courtesy of a lucky break but, after all the bad ones he’s had in majors over the years, surely no one would begrudge him. The only week he’s been in the world’s top 50 over the past four months just happened to be the one before Christmas when the cut- off was made for invitations to Augusta.
‘ I was delighted, obviously, because you don’t want to be sitting at home when the Masters is on,’ he said. ‘I’m looking at it as a bonus event because i t was amazing the way it happened.’
Unless we have lift- off here in Houston, Westwood will head to Georgia with nothing to suggest he can add to his impressive tally of five top-11 finishes in his last six Augusta starts.
But, as he points out: ‘It’s not a coincidence you see the same names up there every year. You learn that you don’t need your best stuff all the time, that there are ways and means of getting around that course.
‘It’s not all about the fantastic shots you hit but making sure you’re not out of position too often and limiting the bogeys.
‘I feel comfortable there, so if I start hitting it well then I shall be trying to contend. If not, I’ll be thinking of getting into the top 12 who get an invitation for next year.’
Normally by now Westwood would be fully in the competitive groove but last week’s rusty showing in the WGC-World Match Play was his first tournament for six weeks and, after Augusta, he will have another five weeks at home.
A lot of that has to do with the complicated divorce he went through last year with wife Laurae — sister of Scottish golfer Andrew Coltart — which he doesn’t want to talk about following legal advice.
‘The difference between now and aged 35 is there is a lot more going on,’ he concedes. ‘I still feel like the game comes pretty easily but there’s demands on your time that stop you practising.
‘It’s not like me at all to play as little as this but there’s stuff to sort out and then I’ll be looking to kick on in the summer and get in that Ryder Cup team.’
Westwood is keen not to leave his friend and captain Darren Clarke in an awkward position for the match in September.
‘If I’m not playing well I’ll be the first to tell him not to pick me because there’s nothing worse than a Ryder Cup if you’re struggling,’ he admits. ‘But I’d like to be there in some capacity. I’d be happy to get some captaincy experience as a vice-captain.’
A consequence of his marriage split is that, after two years based in Florida, Westwood now lives in edinburgh where his two kids go to school. During his six weeks at home, he indulged his love of top-class sport.
‘ I’ve been taking in all that’s British again, because you miss that in Florida,’ he says. ‘Sport is a big part of my life and I’d forgotten how good it is to watch it live. My house is 10 minutes from Murrayfield, and I really enjoyed the Scotland v France Six Nations match.
‘Mind you, I did give Sam (his 14-year- old son) a strange look when he started singing Flower Of
Scotland. I didn’t mind clapping politely, but I wasn’t going that far.’
The highlight, t hough, was Cheltenham, where Ballyalton, the horse he co-owns with dad John, completed a two-year recovery from injury to win.
Westwood admits to having shed a tear as it crossed the line.
‘Crying over sport is something I never do but i t was quite a training achievement,’ he says. ‘He was injured for two years and it looked at one point like we might have to retire him, so it was some story.’
Which l eads on naturally to whether he’s got some story left himself before he retires, or at least goes off to the seniors’ pasture. He is, after all, the same age as Clarke was when he won The Open in 2011.
‘I think there’s a little life left in me yet,’ he adds, smiling. ‘We’ll see.’