RIDER ON THE STORM
Westwood hopes for wind and rain to boost charge
EVEN i f the wind begins to howl and the heavens open around East Lothian today, Lee Westwood won’t be seeking shelter from the storm.
Quite the opposite, in fact. Westwood freely admits he is far more likely to be doing a rain dance as he looks to continue his challenge for the ASI Scottish Open title over the weekend.
Heavy rain is forecast for the final two days at The Renaissance, which will be a far cry f r om t he glorious l ate afternoon sunshine which bathed the course towards the end of yesterday’s second round.
Indeed, Westwood feels that conditions overall have been far too kind and benign, as reflected by some surprisingly low scoring.
Much of the talk prior to the tournament had focused on the changes made to the course and how i t had apparently been toughened up from last year, when Bernd Wiesberger ripped it apart and won with a score of 22 under par.
Australia’s Lucas Herbert is on track to match that score at the halfway point, holding the lead on 11 under heading into the weekend.
But Westwood, who is two shots adrift of Herbert along with fellow Englishman Ian Poulter on nine under, is r eli shing the prospect of more testing conditions and the course baring its teeth these next two days.
‘I’d like it tougher than it is right now,’ said the Ryder Cup veteran, who carded a level-par round of 71 on the back of a sizzling 62 on Thursday.
‘There are too many birdies and the golf course is playing a little bit too easy at the moment. I’d like it as tough as possible.
‘I played well at the US Open in tough conditions two weeks ago and I generally don’t win tournaments where it’s a birdiefest. I normally come in at the top when it’s playing tougher and when the golf course is tougher.
‘Things didn’t go my way today. I got a lot of bad breaks, but I stuck to my game plan. I didn’t become impatient and lose the head. I ground it out and 71 feels like a good score.
‘I’m in a good position. Looking at the forecast, the weather is going to change. I’m hitting the ball well and my game feels like it’s in a good place.’
Whether Westwood can shine amid the gloom remains to be seen, but he’s perfectly poised heading into the weekend.
There is as light sense of England versus Australia and an Ashes contest at the top of the leaderboard.
Herbert is being hunted down by a trio of Englishman, with Robert Rock just a shot back — sandwiched in between the Aussie and Westwood and Poulter.
Herbert has been the class act of the field so far, shooting 65 yesterday on the back of an opening 66.
But he admits his good form has come as a bit of a shock after a rude awakening in his practice rounds at The Renaissance.
‘To be honest, I turned up here on Wednesday and hit it all over the place,’ said the 24-year- old, who claimed his maiden victory at the Dubai Desert Classic in January.
‘So I wasn’t really expecting too much the last few days. But it’s kind of all come together nicely, and yeah, I’m pretty happy.’
Robert MacIntyre put in a good charge yesterday. After a disappointing first-round 74, he bounced back with a four-under par 67 to make the cut.
The title of top Scot at the halfway stage, however, goes to Craig Lee, who sits five shots off the lead on six under.
Grant Forrest and Scott Jamieson are a further shot back, with Ewen Ferguson, Connor Syme, Marc Warren, Calum Hill all safely through to the weekend.
One Scot who won’t be joining them, though, is Paul Lawrie after his final round on the European Tour saw him card a 79.
The hugely popular Aberdonian will now retire from the main tour and he admits that the pain of yesterday’s round only reaffirmed the decision in his own mind.
‘Today shows exactly why I’m doing what I’m doing,’ said the 51- year-old, whose career highlights included winning The Open Championship in 1999 and playing in two Ryder Cups.
‘I can’t play at this level when my back’s terrible. My left foot’s also been sore this last couple of days. So it’s the right thing to do. I don’t want to play and just be making up the numbers. That’s not what I’m about.
‘If I’m stopping a young boy coming in and having a game, having a career, I don’t want that. There’s no chance I can win tournaments at this level.
‘So, if I can’t win tournaments, there’s other things that I can be doing, and I don’t mean that to sound flippant.
‘I’m just a big believer that you don’t hang about. When your time’s up, your time’s up. On you go.
‘I would say that I’ve obviously been fortunate enough to have been a decent player, to have won a few tournaments.
‘Every win is special because I never thought I’d win any to be honest. Never thought I would play in any, never mind win any.
‘Obviously The Open was out of this world and to have your name on that is unbelievable. So it’s been a great time. I’ve had a blast.’