|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPJune 13, 2011Lee WestwoodBETHESDA, MARYLAND BETH MURRISON: Good afternoon. We're very happy to have joining us today Lee Westwood, who is currently the second ranked player in the world. Lee is playing in his 12th U.S. Open here this week. His first was in 1997 at Congressional. Can you talk a little bit about the 14 years that have gone by and playing in the Open then as opposed to today? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, really doesn't seem like five minutes, those 14 years. But no, it's a pretty similar golf course to the way it played 14 years ago. You know, they've done a good job of modifying it and lengthening it and changing the greens in certain areas. That's what's keeping up with technology. But the golf course itself is in great condition. The fairways are pretty generous, but if you miss them obviously you get penalized. The greens are holding for a shot from the fairways, which is good, because you want to reward the accurate player. A good surface to putt on them, it's just a nice level of rough around the greens. Yeah, it should be a great week. I'm very excited. Q. In '97 when you got here, what were your first impressions of U.S. Open golf and what are your memories from that week? LEE WESTWOOD: My first impressions were it was a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be. You know, the toughness of a U.S. Open setup takes you by surprise when you've never played it before. And I don't really remember a lot from '97, other than it was quite wet, I think. There wasn't a lot of run on the fairways, and it played quite long. I did all right. I finished 19th, I think, so I was quite pleased with that, first effort at a U.S. Open. Q. What are your thoughts on your playing partners the first couple rounds? Looks like they've managed to get the last three guys ranked No. 1 in the world in the same group. LEE WESTWOOD: Amazing freak of nature how that came out in the draw, wasn't it? Yeah. It's exciting enough. I did it a few years ago at Torrey Pines. Yeah, I like it. I think it's a good idea. I get on well with Luke and Martin, as well, so it'll be a nice way to start off the tournament, yeah. Q. You've come obviously close at some Majors, and I just wonder when you're getting that close psychologically do you get to a point where you want it too much and you have to fight that to try to break that barrier? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I think it's a fine balancing act and a fine line between when you do get really close to it becoming frustrated but still seeing the positives in it, the fact that you are getting close. And I feel like my game is good enough. And if I just do a few things differently at the right times, then it'll be the difference between a second and a win. So yeah, you're right there, that it is a tricky balancing act, also going in with expectations but playing with a freedom, as well. Q. With regard to Phil who's been runner-up five times at this tournament, you look at that as a positive on one end, but can that also kind of weigh on your mind a little bit? Are you ever going to break the seal, so to speak? And how have you observed him coming back from disappointments like that? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I think if you're a good player, you're going to have disappointments because you're going to be in contention a lot, aren't you? You're going to have lots of chances to win major championships. So that's all part and parcel of it. As golfers, if you have a successful year, we maybe win three times a year. That's about ten percent of the times you play. So you get used to not winning and being disappointed. So you learn, if you're any good and mentally right, you learn to try and take the positives out of anything, even when you maybe finish second and you thought you should have won one of these. You try and look at it on the bright side, and I think I've probably managed to do that over the last few years. And that's why I have to say a second place at Turnberry, I followed it up with a third place at the PGA, at Hazeltine, and then eight months after that a second place in the Masters again, and keep getting into contention, and then again at the Open last year at St. Andrews, second again. I seem to be responding well and coming out of it positively, even though obviously I'd love to win one. Q. You mentioned '97 and the Open ended up being far more difficult than you had expected. What have you learned about the U.S. Open in general since then? What do you think separates it or makes it a little bit different than the other majors? LEE WESTWOOD: I think it's probably the toughest test of all four majors. You seem to see the highest score winning here compared to the others. You just have to be very, very patient and not give any shots away unnecessarily. If you can make double instead of making triple, that's great. If you can make bogey instead of making double, that's fantastic. It's almost like credit is one less birdie you need if you can make that three or four-footer when you need it. Q. Why is it the toughest? LEE WESTWOOD: It's just the setup, really. If you look at it in relation to par, which is probably not the best way to go at it, but it's the way a lot of people look at it, they normally take a par-72 course and make it a 70, which immediately takes eight shots off it. And then the way the golf course is set up, it's probably the thickest rough of the year. What is this, 7,600 yards, par-71? It's fairly long played off the back, although the way they've set it up the last few years, they've done a great job moving tees around. There's been possibilities to have drivable par-4s that have been brought into play, thinking about the -- is it the 14th at Torrey Pines where the tee was moved up, and there's probably others, as well. And the greens are very firm, which always makes it tough. You start missing fairways, even in the semi, and it's impossible to control your ball. The greens are very firm out there. It's only Monday. I can only imagine they're going to keep firming up. You know, it doesn't lend -- if you were going to ask for a setup for good score, it would be completely opposite to the way they set up a U.S. Open. You don't want soft greens, wide fairways and greens running about 11, and these are going to be running at somewhere around 14, firm and narrow fairways with lots of rough. It's pretty self-explanatory, really. Q. Having come so close in these so many times, have you picked the brain of anyone, foreign players, who have been in your situation, guys who have finished second, third a lot in the majors and just haven't broken through? LEE WESTWOOD: No, I haven't spoken to anybody, no. I'm pretty good at dealing with things without asking anybody else. It's just one of those things, you know. It's a challenge that I've got to try and overcome and just do a little bit better at the right times, like I said. There's no secret ingredient or recipe to it. I keep getting myself in position and it's just a case of finishing it off. Q. Can you give us some thoughts on the 10th hole and what it'll be like starting one day on that hole? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah. It'll be awkward. Obviously in the morning the ball is not quite flying as far, so starting on the 10th will be -- it'll be a big shot. I played it last Tuesday morning, and it was a good 4-iron, so I'm not sure what they'll do with the tees there. That was right off the back, and it was slightly into a slight breeze. I don't know whether they'll move the tee up or something like that because there's quite a few options there. But I like the finish of 17 as opposed to where it used to be a par-3, because the final hole of the U.S. Open now asks you to hit a driver in the fairway and then an iron shot rather than everybody starting from the same place when it was a par-3. It tested less of your game under the most intense pressure before when we finished with a par-3. Q. Does that gum up the works starting with a par-3, timewise, at all. Does it slow things down right out of the chute? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, it could be. I don't know. It's going to be a very tough start to the day, and then you've got pretty much a 500 yard par-4 straight up the hill with a ditch on the right on the 11th. To be honest, though, if you were given the opportunity to start anywhere on this golf course it would be a tough start because they're all tough holes pretty much. It's one of my favorite golf courses and probably one of the toughest and best tests if you're looking for an all-around player. Q. You referenced the greens running 14 and a half or whatever they're going to be on the stimp meter. I think they must have been running about 71/2 when you won in Korea. LEE WESTWOOD: Eight, I think. Q. This carpet is faster. Do you have a preference there? And how important is that of an adjustment to make this week to getting used to putting on linoleum? LEE WESTWOOD: I think that proves that I can adjust pretty well. The week before they were running pretty quick and then that week they were running slow. I think it all depends on the construction of the greens. In Korea they were quite undulating, some quite severe, big slopes, so you couldn't really get them too fast, and then obviously we were expecting a bit of breeze that week, as well. That all has to be taken into account. This week is completely different. Just leave them to go like they do at a U.S. Open, it kind of gets firmer and harder and faster as the week goes on. Q. Deader I think is the word. LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, it dies, yeah. Q. You play against the course, but of course you also play against the field. Who's the favorite? LEE WESTWOOD: The course. (Laughter.) I don't know. I haven't really looked. Golf is in such a good position at the moment because it's so volatile you can get a different winner every week. It's part of the challenge of the game at the moment, I think. But if I could pick out a favorite, I'd be working for Paddy Power or BetFred or something like that. Q. You and Luke are primarily the favorites on most oddsmakers' sheets -- LEE WESTWOOD: Well, they're looking at current form. They're looking at form from previous major championships and U.S. Opens, I guess, current form, World Rankings, all taken into account. Q. You had that experience of holding the 54-hole lead at the Masters last year. We've seen some interesting performances from guys who have held that position this year. What was it like waking up Sunday morning with a lead in a major and is it difficult to handle? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, it's quite tricky. It's an interesting experience. You try not to let your mind get carried away, what might be, and just try and stay in the present and tell yourself there's a long way to go. It's a long, demanding 18 holes ahead to try and get the job done. That's the tricky thing, not letting your mind get carried away. Q. You talked about the change in the holes, but could you talk about the new 18th hole and what you like or dislike about that? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, it's a very fair hole. It's a great finishing hole. It was good as the 17th before and now it's obviously even better now that it's the 18th. It's long, depending on which tee is used. It's a fairly generous fairway I would say compared to the others. I think that's been mentioned that they tried to make it a little bit wider. And then obviously all the dangers there for everybody to see around the green there with the water and the traps on the right. I guess if you've got a couple of shot lead you're going to play for the front edge, try and chip it on and get out of there with a 5 if you can. Q. Watching you strike the ball out there, it's clear that you're in sharp form. Is that how you feel? Is this probably as good as you've felt as a golfer in your career? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I'm hitting the ball very well. I'm driving it pretty long and straight. My iron shots are fairly crisp, which is good coming into a U.S. Open. My preparation has gone well. I've played well just recently, really since the Masters, after a slowish start to the year. There's a couple of wins in there and obviously lost in a playoff to Luke at the PGA. My confidence is pretty high, and looking forward to this week. The major championships really now are the most exciting part of the year and the ones I look forward to during the year, so it's an exciting week this week. Q. I saw you out there earlier. How many holes did you get in today? LEE WESTWOOD: Just six today, but I played nine last Monday evening and 18 Tuesday morning. Q. And how did you find the course today? LEE WESTWOOD: Today? Q. Today. LEE WESTWOOD: It hasn't changed a lot since last week. I think maybe the rough is slightly longer, but it's very fair. You know, there's no tricks to this golf course. You could almost play it -- turn up Thursday and just play it because it's such a good, honest test. BETH MURRISON: Lee, thank you very much for visiting us today. We wish you well this week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|