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OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

February 3, 2010

Lee Westwood

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

MICHAEL GIBBONS: Glad to be back in Dubai.
LEE WESTWOOD: Great to be back in Dubai. Can I start by apologising for my language walking off the 16th green last week. It was disgraceful. It was frustration boiling over, a combination of many things.

Q. Did they apologise on their behalf?
LEE WESTWOOD: I'm apologising on my behalf now.

Q. Was it unlike you to get like that on the course?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, it was just a mount-up of different things.

Q. Not something that we've heard before, certain people you know, that clubs can go miles sometimes.
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, it was a combination of getting my irons sorted, and thought that was great that week, very pleased with those. And then the driver smashing on the Saturday afternoon and it being a course set up perfect for me. Being a straight driver is a big advantage around there, and suddenly one of your strongest weapons is taken out of your bag, really.
I had obviously got back into the tournament and 16 was the place I needed to hit driver because I couldn't carry the rough with 3-wood, and hit the same shot left again. And then I had a two-and-a-half-footer with Mt. Vesuvius in the way, massive spike mark. And I just lined up and Billy says, "You're just going to have to hit it," and as soon as I hit it, it shot straight off right. It was frustration.
I personally don't see the reason for people need to go wear spikes anymore. I think especially on these kind of greens, I think 95 per cent of us are probably wearing soft spikes or the really short ones. I don't see any real reason for the big ones, and it was a problem all week, because they were making statements in the Tour office about them. People weren't tapping them down and stuff like that.
I don't really see there's much need for them anymore, but some people choose to have them.

Q. Something for the Tour to look at, perhaps?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, along with the grooves I suppose.

Q. Keeping them busy.
LEE WESTWOOD: We like to keep them on their toes, don't we. (Laughing)
Q. As Europe's No. 1, if you don't say anything, surely what you say has got to carry a weight, if you see what I mean?
LEE WESTWOOD: I suppose so, yeah, but something like that is up to the governing bodies to sort out. The thing is, they make greens -- when we play on them, they are right on the edge of speed, and I suppose keeping them alive in conditions like this and things like that.
So you do have to be really careful on them, you know, there's nothing more distracting to them I guess than a nine millimeter spike.

Q. Have you sorted out a driver yet?
LEE WESTWOOD: I think so. PING have -- I've been inundated with PING drivers the last couple of days. They are obviously very keen to help me and they have sent out a couple of people and a few drivers.
So I think we're gradually getting it sorted. Yeah, I've got three or four I can choose from now and pick the best one and I've got two or three backups.

Q. And is this course like last week where you feel you need your strength?
LEE WESTWOOD: I think around any golf course, long, straight driving is an asset obviously. But I feel like my short game has nearly clicked into place to where it was the end of last year. My iron play feels good. I feel distance control is very good with this new set of irons. Ironically I had the wedges tested from last year, and they passed believe it or not. So I'm using the same wedges as I used last year. So the distance control with them shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Q. How many drivers do you think you've tested?
LEE WESTWOOD: Only four or five. They are pretty good with setting them up and then factoring to the specifications that we are used to.

Q. Any lectures from Billy this week?
LEE WESTWOOD: No, he's pleased with the way things are going, yeah.

Q. What was the secret plan this week?
LEE WESTWOOD: There's no secrets this week. Just go out and enjoy myself. It's somewhere I always enjoy coming. It's a good golf course. They set it up great. The greens are in as good of condition as I've ever seen it. There's a bit of rough. You can't really afford to -- I think you can't really afford to miss the fairways, but I think the greens will firm up as the week goes on hopefully.
I think there's rain in the forecast for maybe Friday or Saturday, but if it's going to be hot like this for a couple of days and a breeze coming, it should dry out pretty quickly, which is good.

Q. So the secret this week is there's no secret?
LEE WESTWOOD: The secret this week is there's no secret, yes.

Q. Your last round was head-to-head with Robert last week, how much would you put it down to being at a disadvantage because of the driver?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, not taking anything away from Robert, he did a great job, especially on the back nine.
I had obviously been struggling with the driver on the front nine after getting off to a fast start, and then made a couple of bogeys mainly through missing fairways. And then didn't need the driver really, put some pressure on the early part of the back nine and he responded well and made a good birdie on 11 and holed a good putt for par on 12, had the pressure on him. And 14, he hit it stiff, and then I let the pressure off him again on 16 due the to driver.
So when he needed to, he did the right things. But I think it may have been a bit closer. His caddie says he's never seen me hit it left. We played golf as amateurs together and he said, "Your shot, a bad one was always like a right, semi-fade," and ended up just off the edge of the fairway. He said he's never seen me hit shots like that before. I think it would have been a little bit closer.

Q. We were talking to Monty about The Ryder Cup and the fact that all of your guys are playing well so early in the season must be good for you; and to see guys like Martin and Robert, as much as you wanted to win last week, both Martin and Robert coming off long breaks with injury and Paul Casey, too, which must be good for the sort of overall makeup of the team?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, it's eight months away. It's still nice to see so many European Tour players at the top of the World Rankings. Shows that we are going to have a strong side and that we have got lots of world-class players and ones that are due to come up.
Did you see the press release from PING this morning? The one about the grooves?

Q. No. What's happened?
LEE WESTWOOD: Just the press release from PING. You don't do your jobs very well (shaking head in disgrace) (laughter).
MICHAEL GIBBONS: You could get a PING press officer to get a distribution list.
LEE WESTWOOD: Might clarify a few things for you.

Q. Padraig is considering packing a PING.
LEE WESTWOOD: Packing a PING? It's a massive coupe for PING, isn't it, that people can hit their 20-year-old clubs better than their current manufacturers.

Q. As you said last week, it's sort of going against the spirit of the changes, isn't it.
LEE WESTWOOD: I would just like to know Callaway's opinions on these things; and Wilson, that their No. 1 player thinks that 20-year-old PING clubs are more of an advantage than the current Callaway clubs.

Q. Might be on a 12-club deal.
LEE WESTWOOD: I wouldn't imagine he's on a 12-club deal, and I'll stand corrected if he is.

Q. Is that surprising that Padraig has now joined major winners like Mickelson and Daly?
LEE WESTWOOD: It's surprising, that if I was to rate the top three short game experts in the world, they would be Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington probably.

Q. How much of it is psychological? Have you been playing with the 20-year-old PING at home just seeing what it feels like compared to the new one?
LEE WESTWOOD: No, I haven't. I've spent most of my life trying to take spin off the ball, so I'm not about to put in 20-year-old clubs. I think the up-to-date stuff that PING manufacturers are far superior to the stuff 20 years ago.
I think that rule was put in place for people, for amateurs that pay for their clubs and it was a safeguard by PING to stop loyal customers from having to buy new clubs, basically. So exploiting a little bit.
I'll stand corrected if Phil bought his irons, but I think he gets his stuff for free. (Laughter).

Q. Even PINGs?
LEE WESTWOOD: He probably got his PINGs for free. They are quite a generous company.
MICHAEL GIBBONS: Okay, we are going to bring the PING press conference to an end.

End of FastScripts

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