LEE WESTWOOD’S GUIDE TO AUGUSTA
Lee Westwood could be forgiven for rolling his eyes whenever he is talked about as the greatest player never to have won a major. It’s a stick he is often beaten with, a kind of backhanded compliment which makes his 19 top-10 finishes in majors seem less than impressive.
When he turns 45 next month, he will be the oldest man listed in the top 50 of the World Rankings. It’s a sign of his longevity that he won his 25th title on the European Tour in January, which puts him eighth on the all-time list. It is one of many notches on his belt, which include picking up 23 points in the Ryder Cup, going unbeaten twice (2004 and 2006), and ending Tiger’s 281-week streak as World No. 1 in 2010.
Less is made of his record at the Masters, but it is better than most. He has posted six top-10 finishes and been runner-up twice, most recently in 2016, when Danny Willett beat him by three. Had it been the other way round, he would have been playing at Augusta in 2018 and 2019 rather than watching at home.
A top-five finish at last year’s Open guaranteed that he will be in the field this month and while he’s keen to play down his chances, his pre-Masters odds of 80-1 seem surprisingly generous when there are few men in better form, or with more experience. And if last year taught us anything it’s that course craft counts for a lot …
Augusta is a very special place. I’ve played great in the past, and had a few close calls, finishing second a couple of times and third a couple of times. But if you’ve played it a lot, you play it well. There’s a lot of repeat winners.
I know where to miss, though
