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QUINN INSURANCE BRITISH MASTERS


September 26, 2008


Lee Westwood


WISHAW, ENGLAND

RODDY WILLIAMS: Lee, thank you very much for coming in and joining us, another good round puts you ahead of the field and in defence of your title.
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I'm in decent position. Played okay today. Got off to a poor start. Bogeyed the 10th and bogeyed the 12th, hit a couple of poor shots, and the 14th, got a couple birdies in the middle there. I didn't make the most of 15 and 17, and then around the turn there, got up-and-down on 18 and then three birdies on 1, 2 and 3, and a great birdie at 7. I hit 7-iron to three feet. Nice to chip and putt the last.
All in all, I played quite solidly, but I hope to play better tomorrow.

Q. How much of an effort was today?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, big effort. Shattered. I'm running on empty.
Well, you allow yourself a bit of leeway either way.

Q. You scrambled very well which must be the hardest bit?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, but that's what I've been working on, hard, you know, chips like I played on the 9th there, made getting up-and-down on 8 look easy. Made a good up-and-down on 5. Lovely up-and-down on 18. Played a lob shot there.
You know, when I'm feeling a bit lethargic, my short game can get me out of a bit of trouble.

Q. Are you more physically or mentally drained?
LEE WESTWOOD: It was a lot mental but it was a lot physical today. I didn't sleep very well last night with the jet-lag and felt tired all day today. I don't think the three hours sitting around this morning particularly helped, but you can't really do too much about that.
So I'm just a bit drained, especially after last week. It's a mentally and physically draining week.

Q. What are you doing for it?
LEE WESTWOOD: Just energy drinks and snacks and stuff like that, energy bars.

Q. Home tonight?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I'm only an hour away, so go home tonight and relax tomorrow morning, come out here. I'll probably be out pretty late imagine because there will be a bit of finishing off to do and the forecast is not great with the fog, so I'll just take the morning nice and easy.

Q. Regarding possibility of Phil Mickelson and taking up European Tour Membership next year and Vijay Singh playing more, what's your reaction?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, you know, Phil is obviously No. 2 in the world, and Vijay is high up there, so the World Ranking points come along, as well. It benefits the Tour and everybody on the Tour. It's great to have the top players in the world playing this tour.
Does that mean they are relinquishing their membership of the PGA Tour?

Q. They only need to play two or three more, it's not changing their schedule at all with a new event coming on?
LEE WESTWOOD: You know, that's I suppose the issue that the committee is at over. It's a lot easier to play this tour than it is the PGA Tour. When you're a member of the PGA Tour, you don't have to play as many events to qualify. That's an issue and I think they are thinking about changing it.

Q. Could you see a sense of resentment where Phil plays the three in the Middle East, Shanghai and that's the four he needs to play on top of his WGC events and Majors and could end up in the final event in Dubai and walk of with $10 million - do you think the average European Tour player will resent it?
LEE WESTWOOD: Well, the average European Tour player will just have practice harder and get better. You run your tour -

Q. He could play The European Tour without really committing to The European Tour?
Playing your 11 events, according to our rules, is committing to the tour.

Q. Would you think 11 events is not enough?
LEE WESTWOOD: It's not for me to say. I'm not on the committee. It's for the committee to say and they are discussing it. That's why I am not on the committee because I don't want to commit myself.

Q. I think they are asking for everyone's views?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I've given my views in private and they know my views. I gave my views in private.

Q. Your schedule staying the same?
LEE WESTWOOD: Next year? No, I prefer to play all around the world. I'll play the bigger events there obviously, the majors and the world -- well, I may not play the match play, but probably go to Miami and then the Masters.
So I should play a limited schedule over there next year, but no less than I would have normally. I'm not changing plans since last week or anything like that.

Q. if you are breathing down Padraig's neck for the Order of Merit would you consider playing another one?
LEE WESTWOOD: No, I'll stick to the schedule I've got, the Dunhill, Portugal Masters and the Volvo Masters.

Q. Why are you skipping the Match Play?
LEE WESTWOOD: The Match Play, you could -- it doesn't really fit in with all the stuff I want to do around. There's some natural two-week trips for me around that time, and you could go to Tucson, get there on the Monday, have a practice there on Tuesday and then fly home Wednesday night having shot a 65 and a guy shoots 64 beats you on the last one and that messes up your schedule for the next couple of weeks, as well, with it being an eight-hour time change or a seven-hour time change.
So at some point, you just have to evaluate it. I was thinking about doing this year but I ended up going. You about next year -- I ended up going because I played L.A. This year, I'm not going to play L.A. and I probably won't play The Match Play in Tucson -- playing the World Golf Championships around the rest of the world.
RODDY WILLIAMS: Thank you very much.

End of FastScripts




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