LIV GOLF NEW YORK

August 8, 2026

Lee Westwood

Trump National Golf Club Bedminster

Majesticks Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Lee Westwood, captain of Majesticks GC, welcome back to the media center. 2-under 69 for the day, currently hold solo third place entering Sunday, a battle out there. Take us through your round and how you feel about today.

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I played well. Obviously bogeyed the first but then played great after that around to 14. The two par-3s on the back nine, I've hit two good shots, got a wind switch on 14 and the 5-iron ballooned up in the air and obviously came up short and made double from there.

Then came back, bounced back with a birdie at the next and a lovely 4-iron into the next. It's a 4-iron all day for me and it should have been just straight across, and suddenly it switched and went down. I think it must have been something to do with the storm going through. The wind picked up, and it kept changing direction. It went in the back trap. I thought I'd hit a good bunker shot, but that dug in, as well, with the soft greens and I made bogey there.

Yeah, it was a good solid round of golf, really.

Q. You mentioned the storm. There was a brief weather delay. How did you spend that time? Did you have much time during the weather delay? Did you even have time to get in at all?

LEE WESTWOOD: I spent that time on a cart either riding in or riding out. It was over really quickly and there was no real need to warm up again because nobody cooled down. Just get back out and get on with it; I like that.

Q. You set yourself up for potentially your best finish of the season entering tomorrow. What's the plan for tonight to get ready for Sunday?

LEE WESTWOOD: Just go back to the hotel and have something to eat and try and get some energy back in my legs really. Yeah, that's basically it. It can be draining, this weather, and it's a long, draining golf course. I just started to feel a little bit laggy at the end. Nothing a good night's sleep won't cure, and come back out, hit it like I've hit it today and hopefully putt like I putted today because I'm pleased with where my game is at. 10-under par around this golf course after three rounds is good scoring.

Q. I wanted to ask you about the approach shot at 11. Did you feel like you were fortunate that it hit the flagstick or unfortunate that it didn't drop?

LEE WESTWOOD: You've summed it up really. I was fortunate that it hit the pin, and I suppose -- I couldn't see it. You can't see it from down there, but the guys by the green said it really caught a lot of the flag.

But it's really fortunate if you hole a shot. I played the shot I wanted to. It's just the greens are really spinny, and that's a tough flag. Anything coming back slightly at that flag runs off the front of the green. So I was happy to get up there and see it like three feet.

Q. You talked yesterday how if you win tomorrow, it really wouldn't impact your legacy at all. But on the PGA TOUR, the oldest guy to win was Snead at 52. On the DP World Tour, it was Jiménez at 50. You would be 53; that seems like it would be quite an accomplishment.

LEE WESTWOOD: It goes beyond that, really, for me now. I'm just pleased to be in good enough shape, my game still be at an elite level where I can compete with these guys that are some of the best in the world. Joaco is one of the best players in the world, in my eyes. You've got Jon Rahm and Bryson and Tyrrell, and they're not even in contention this week.

At 53 years of age, I think it's quite an achievement to still be mixing it with the youngsters. If you go out there and watch us all playing, I'm giving up quite an advantage off the tee. Not all the time, I get the occasional one out there, but in general, I'm playing a different golf course, really.

Q. Four years ago when you joined LIV, did you think that four years later you would still be as competitive now, or did you expect any dropoff? What was your expectations four years ago?

LEE WESTWOOD: I stopped doing expectations, really. With anything to do with golf and what I do, I just expect to -- I'm very competitive, and I always just expect to give my best and try 100 percent. That's the only expectation I put on myself. If it's good enough, it's good enough. I've learned to accept when it's not good enough anymore, and a lot of that is down to do with I'm just getting a bit older. Quite nice to go out there with no real goals or expectations, just play. That's what getting in the zone is, right? Just playing.

Q. Lee, obviously you have all the experience in the world, and you've won in all different positions, behind, from the lead. How can you compare and contrast trying to win from the final group as opposed to trying to win from further back?

LEE WESTWOOD: I've always believed it's nice to have an eye on the leader, be playing with him. I've won tournaments coming from seven, eight shots behind, and that has its different problems associated with it for the leader. If you get a roll going, you can set a score, and sometimes mentally that's tough to play as a leader with.

But I've always liked -- I just like being in the last group. It means you're doing well, right?

Q. As a strategic player at this point in your career, do you feel like it could be an advantage the more difficult it plays because you don't have to try to keep up with a birdie barrage and can kind of pick your spots?

LEE WESTWOOD: (Chuckling) Well, looking at the standard on this tour, it seems like there's a birdie barrage no matter what golf course we play on. I thought JCB a couple of weeks ago was a tricky little golf course, and the two guys at the top of the leaderboard are shooting 9- and 10-under the final day and finishing 30-under and 24-under, whatever it is, and 21 is just sneaking third.

I think this golf course is tough regardless of the conditions. I don't think it's a pushover if we played it flat calm tomorrow. I think it's a golf course that's hard, and it demands respect.

Q. I've watched your career for 30 years now, and a lot of people don't realize that you were the No. 1 player in the world at one time. I remember you at La Costa with Chubby Chandler and Darren Clarke many, many years ago, and Peter Alliss told me keep an eye on that guy. As you look at your career right now as a 53-year-old man, are you happy with what things you've brought to the Westwood family?

LEE WESTWOOD: First and foremost, Peter Alliss said, get your teeth fixed, which I did do eventually. I got some veneers on. I used to love sitting with Peter and talking to him and having a glass of wine with him. I miss him.

I think anybody within golf that is a golf enthusiast knows I was World No. 1. I think it's just kind of that new crowd. There's a few brain-dead ones that you wouldn't even bother talking about, to be perfectly honest.

No, I'm pretty happy with the way the last 34 years have gone or whatever it is. Just a young lad from Worksop; golf wasn't really in my family. Nobody in my family played. Took it up one summer holidays and then sometime in 2010, 2011 was the best player in the world. I figure that's a fairly decent achievement.

Q. Lee, the season is scheduled to close August 30th. What are your competitive playing plans after that? It's kind of a long off-season. What do you have on your calendar?

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I think it's going to have to be a fine balance. I can't play too much. But I'd like to play a little bit more than nine tournaments, as where we sit now. I'll play a few more towards the end of the season. Johann Rupert was very kind and gave me an invite for the Dunhill, and I'm playing Hong Kong, the tournament in the Philippines and the Saudi International, so there are four on the schedule. If anybody else wants to give me an invite, then I'm happy to listen.