THE RYDER CUP MATCHES

September 24, 2002

Lee Westwood

GORDON SIMPSON: Well, Lee, here we are at last. It's been a long wait. And you'd like to be back out on the golf course and playing again in a Ryder Cup context and the practice.

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, it's very exciting, obviously. It's got a good feel about it. And I'm looking forward to the week. I've started to play a little bit better, so hopefully I can play as well this week and win a few points for the team.

GORDON SIMPSON: There are a lot of conversation especially in Sahalee that the game is looking better, what did you do last week.

LEE WESTWOOD: I had a practice round here on Thursday. I played quite well then. And played quite well the day after. I tried to play as much golf as possible, not being in the American Express. I did well over the weekend, saw Pete on Sunday for a couple of hours. And then again yesterday. I seem to be making good progress, making a lot of good shots, not too many destructive ones, I think I only hit one today. I got a lot of fairways, which is difficult around here. And I hit close to the hole a lot. I was quite pleased.

Q. We had Phillip Price in yesterday, who said he'd felt, in his words, surrounded by negativity, over the last probably 12 months, he said. Did that ring bells with you?

LEE WESTWOOD: No, not really. It's about 18 months for me (laughter).

Q. He's talking about things that we write, that people say whenever he's stopped by friends, how are you playing, and all this sort of stuff?

LEE WESTWOOD: You get used to people asking you how you're playing, with a tone in their voice that they're expect you to say, oh, crap. I think that's a bit wearing after a while. It's going to happen when there are a lot of people on the team whose form has dipped a bit. It's all part and parcel, isn't it? They have to buy papers, which is a good thing.

Q. Any money change hands this morning?

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, a little bit.

Q. You've been called a lot of things in your time, European number one. Have you ever been called the weakest link? The reason I'm asking this is I'm looking at an American magazine that has you and Hal Sutton, the weakest link on the European team. I just want your views on that?

LEE WESTWOOD: I look quite thin. I make a horizontal striped shirt look good. I've seen worse. I've seen bigger ears and bigger teeth.

Q. What do you think about things like that?

LEE WESTWOOD: It's the first time I've seen it. I've not read it. No, I don't think I have. (Laughter.)

Q. The 10th hole they've decided, Sam said, to move the tee back. Your thoughts on the hole playing longer?

LEE WESTWOOD: I don't think they've decided to move it back; they just decided not to move it forward. That's always how we played it in the Benson & Hedges the first couple of days. That's the way the hole should play. You can stick it forward and make it in a 1- or 2-iron for some people. But it's more interesting if it's a driver. You'll see a lot more people laying up. The better wedge players will benefit from not moving it forward. You've got to control your spin well, because you can spin it back into the water, because the green is quite soft. But there's obviously a reward if you want to risk your driver and knock it on and you can make it in two.

Q. What does the Ryder Cup mean to you, personally?

LEE WESTWOOD: I think I've read that the Ryder Cup is the third biggest sporting event in the world after the World Cup and the Olympics. It's obviously a huge week for anybody that plays in the Ryder Cup. And I just enjoy it because it's a different form of golf, team golf, obviously with 11 other people and the captain and vice captain. And there's always a good camaraderie with the European camp and we have a good laugh. And it's a very enjoyable week.

Q. Mr. Woods, he's not turned out by it?

LEE WESTWOOD: I don't know, I haven't read what he said.

Q. He said he'd rather win a million pounds than play in the Ryder Cup or something like that?

LEE WESTWOOD: He's getting to do both.

Q. Given your form the last 12 months, is it nice to play with Monty today and be included in what was possibly a pairing for Friday?

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I always enjoy playing with Monty. We seem to play well together. We played a couple of weeks ago in Germany, and I was 7-under after two rounds, and I think he was 7-under, as well. It might have been more, it might have been 8 or 9. We just seem to bring the best out in each other. Over the last couple of years we've obviously been in contention together. He beat me in Ireland in '98 when he shot 62 the last round, and I beat him a couple of times, once in the European Open. We just feed off each other, and we get on very well and have a laugh and very lighthearted on the way around. He's an easy guy to get on with.

Q. Why do you think it is that the Ryder Cup seems to be more important to the European players than the American players? Curtis says you grew up revering the Ryder Cup more than the American players?

LEE WESTWOOD: Who said it doesn't mean anything to the Americans?

Q. Just the reaction for the last couple of weeks. It seems to be more important for the European players than the American players?

LEE WESTWOOD: I honestly don't know the answer to this question because I think it's a load of crap. I think they look forward to every minute of the Ryder Cup. The two Ryder Cups I've played in, you can see the emotions in their faces, at Brookline, spreading the campaign around like the Europeans would have done. If anybody says it doesn't mean anything to them, they're talking out their backside, excuse my French.

Q. Can you try to describe how different the experience is to the -- involved in one of these crucial match play matches, as opposed to going down the stretch in a sort of stroke-play tournament? Is there a significant difference in your point of view?

LEE WESTWOOD: There's not a significant difference. I always think the Ryder Cups, it's a lot like playing the last hole of a tournament, when you need a putt to win or you know you do. The pressure is obviously -- when you stand on the first tee of a normal tournament, you are sort of going through the emotions, not trying to -- you're not thinking about the final result. But in a Ryder Cup you're more focused on trying to win a point at the end of the day.

Q. Does that make it a bit -- is it more enjoyable or less enjoyable, more pressure?

LEE WESTWOOD: It depends on whether you enjoy playing under pressure.

Q. But the match play thing of course is the specific pressure, you really thrive on that?

LEE WESTWOOD: It's nice to play against somebody else that's there in front of you, other than somebody that's 11-under par on the back 9 playing somewhere else. You're focused on beating the other guy. You don't do anything too much different. You still play your own game, try to get in the fairway, knock it close, and make a few putts. But it's obviously nice to have the opponent there in front of you. If you're beating him, you feed off the feeling you are getting in front. And if you're losing you've got to dig deep and show a bit of guts and try and get back at him.

Q. How much weight have you lost, and how have you lost it?

LEE WESTWOOD: I've lost roughly about a stone and a half. I've lost it going in the gym, trying to eat more sensibly, doing a bit of Pilates.

Q. Is that every day?

LEE WESTWOOD: No. I haven't done it for a week or so. I've been working out on my game. But I've been doing it three or four times a week, from the Open to two weeks ago.

Q. Do you take advice from anybody on that?

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I've been working with a guy named Dale Richardson, who has worked with Thomas Bjorn. It's nice that someone gives you a program, and you understand the guy knows what he's all about, and understands the mechanics of the body, and you're not going to be doing anything, working out in a way that's going to be a detriment to the game. And he changed my program regularly, so I don't get bored, which is quite important for me because I lose interest in working out quite quickly. More fun putting the weight on.

Q. Do you expect to be in the starting lineup Friday morning?

LEE WESTWOOD: There's been a few pairings thrown around, but nothing solid and certain. It depends on the form. You feel like I'm dancing around the answer? I am. If I'm there on Friday morning, I'll enjoy every minute of it, and obviously try and play my best. But things can change. But the way I played today, I see no reason why I've played my way out of starting the first morning.

Q. With the way your form has gone over the last 18 months, can you put that to one side coming into this?

LEE WESTWOOD: As soon as I start playing well, I can put playing badly out of the way. I've started better form recently, but nothing spectacular. I have definitely turned the corner. The stuff that I'm working on now, I feel like I'm making progress.

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