Lee Westwood is confident about his game after winning a Rolex Series event in Abu Dhabi in January. Can he win his first Major at 47? Picture by GETTY IMAGES

BRITISH Masters host Lee Westwood still believes he can win a Major.

And the former world No. 1 encouraged England’s top amateurs to replicate his work ethic and self-confidence as they strive to achieve their own career goals.

The seven-times Ryder Cup winner took time out from his preparations for the European Tour’s return at Close House next month, by taking part in the latest England Golf online Q&A session with players and coaches from its national squads.

Westwood – who represented England with distinction as an amateur before turning pro in 1993 – shared tales from life on tour.

The “Worksop Wonder,” who is now based in the North East, also gave tips on coaching, practice and course management – as well as offering sound advice for the next generation of England’s elite amateurs.

The 47-year-old’s CV means that he commands instant respect from golfers everywhere.

And his online audience during the hour-long session was no exception.

In the course of his 27 years on Tour Westwood has:

• Achieved 44 tournament victories
• Won pro events in five continents – North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia
• Enjoyed 19 top 10 finishes in Major championships
• Finished inside the top three in all four Majors
• Replaced Tiger Woods as World No. 1 in 2010 and spent 22 weeks at the top
• Played in 10 and won seven Ryder Cups as well as winning one as a vice-captain in 2018

And with the Open heading to Royal St George’s in 2021 after the R&A were forced to cancel the 149th contest for the Claret Jug, it is worth remembering that his great friend Darren Clarke was a shock winner at Sandwich in 2011.

Westwood can also take inspiration that he already has a victory at Royal St George’s to his name.

He won the St George’s Grand Challenge – reputedly the oldest club open in the world – as an amateur back in 1992.

And a certain Jack Nicklaus also has name on that trophy… having won the event in 1959.

Lee Westwood speaking to members of the England national squads and their coaches online

‘Believe in yourself, no one else will’

WHEN asked to pass on one piece of advice to players making the transition from amateur to pro ranks, Westwood said: “Have confidence in yourself.

“It’s a dog-eat-dog world and no-one will put an arm round you. You need to grow up quickly, have faith and confidence in yourself. Convince yourself that you belong out there.

“If you don’t believe in yourself, then no-one else will.”

Westwood demonstrated he still has total belief in his own ability to compete.

Asked if – after so many near misses – he still felt in his heart of hearts that a Major win was still achievable at the age of 47, he said: “Yes – that’s why I do the hard work still – why I’ve lost weight during lockdown so that I’m fit for Majors at the end of the year.

“It’s why I practice,” added Westwood, who credits his work ethic for his career longevity.

“I maybe don’t practice as much as used to, but my practice is more meaningful.

“I turned up to Bethpage for the PGA – where Brooks Koepka won – and looked at the course and thought I wasn’t long enough.

“There were too many advantages for the lads who carry it 310-315 yards through the air. I can’t carry it that far.

“The rough was brutally thick and I was in the rough playing rescue clubs and they played seven-iron. Eventually that wears you down.

“But for the Masters, Harding Park for the PGA this year – I feel as if I have good a chance as anyone if I play my game.

“It’s only a few months since I won a Rolex event with the World No. 1 (Brooks Koepka) playing that week in Abu Dhabi.

“If you can get your game in shape for a course that suits you, then why not?

“It’s all about having the right mentality.”

The 1993 England Home Internationals team. Back row (L-R): Lee James, Lee Westwood, Iain Pyman, Gary Wolstenholme, Michael Welsh, Van Phillips, Colin Edwards. Front row: Paul Page, Warren Bennett, Peter McEvoy (manager), David Fisher and Matt Stanford

‘Seve game me cotton wool at Valderrama’

DURING the session, Westwood touched on the importance of coaches to his career. He has worked with celebrated names such as Pete Cowen, David Leadbetter and Robert Rock.

Crucially, he stressed the importance of taking responsibility for his own swing to avoid being caught up in a “hazy panic” of too many different thoughts.

He also explained his loyalty to club manufacturers having stayed with Titleist and Ping throughout his career.

And he joked about his Ryder Cup debut in 1997. Captain Seve Ballesteros gave him a gift before he hit his first tee shot – a giant ball of cotton wool to stuff in his ears to block out the noise of the Valderrama crowd.

Westwood’s tips were gratefully received by his audience, and he was happy to pass on advice having once been in their position as a teenage hopeful.

Westwood – winner of the McEvoy Trophy and British Youths’ Championship as an amateur – added: “I enjoyed the England days.

“They give you a footing in the game, learning to travel and becoming independent,” added the ex-Nottinghamshire junior, who was a member at Worksop GC.

“Going for England coaching sessions and playing Home Internationals, travelling to Iceland for the European Boys team champs – that’s not somewhere you’d go very often – and Norway too.

“They were good trips and it prepared me for travelling around on Tour.

“Nowadays, amateurs are like semi-pros and have travelled all over the world. The really good ones settle in far easier to pro life than when I started out.

“My first pro event was my debut event as a pro in the Madeira Open.

“Amateurs such as Rory McIlroy had played 15/16 pro events as an amateur by the time they stepped up – and that makes a huge difference.”

Westwood became the touring pro at Close House, near Newcastle, after it opened in 2011 – he will host the Betfred British Masters for a second time in July

Westwood: Fifty European Tour wins would be great

LEE WESTWOOD will be the British Masters host for a second time when the first post-lockdown European Tour event is held at Close House Golf Club, from July 22-25.

And he’s eager to get back and target more success at his adopted home in the North East, and beyond.

“I’m at 44 wins– let’s see if I can get to fifty!,” concluded Westwood with a smile.

Westwood’s willingness to examine the fallow periods in his career as well as the many highs helped provide great insight for the current squad players, who enjoyed the session chaired by England performance director Nigel Edwards.

Westwood was the British Masters host when Paul Dunne claimed his maiden European Tour win at Close House, in 2017, finishing three strokes ahead of Rory McIlroy.

Lee Westwood’s Amateur victories
1991 – Peter McEvoy Trophy – Copt Heath GC
English Boys County Champions (Nottinghamshire) – Prince’s GC
1992 – Lagonda Trophy – Gog Magog GC
St George’s Grand Challenge Cup – Royal St George’s
Prince of Wales Challenge Cup – Royal Cinques Port
1993 – Leven Gold Medal Leven Links
British Youths Championship – Glasgow Gailles GC

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Tiger Woods holds the Masters Trophy after claiming his fifth Green Jacket at Augusta National. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

TIGER Woods completed one of the most incredible comebacks in sporting history to win an emotional 15th Major Championship by one shot at the Masters Tournament.

The American’s last Major title came at the U.S. Open 11 years ago and since then he has undergone numerous back surgeries, falling to 1,199th in the Official World Golf Ranking just 17 months ago.

Tiger, who finished on 13-under with a bogey five at the last, said: “It’s just unreal. The whole tournament has meant so much to me over the years.

“Coming here in ’95 for the first time and being able to play as an amateur, winning in ’97, and then coming full circle, 22 years later, to be able to do it again, and just the way it all transpired today.

“There were so many different scenarios that could have transpired on that back nine.  There were so many guys that had a chance to win.

“The leaderboard was absolutely packed and everyone was playing well.  You couldn’t have had more drama than we all had out there, and now I know why I’m balding.  This stuff is hard.

“Just to come back here and play as well as I did.  This has meant so much to me and my family, this tournament, and to have everyone here, it’s something I’ll never, ever forget.”

A return to fitness and form in 2018 hinted at what was to come, and a closing 70 at Augusta National Golf Club secured a fifth Green Jacket at the scene where he burst onto the world stage in 1997.

Woods’ record 12-shot victory 22 years ago set in motion a remarkable run of dominance at the top of the game, and the 43-year-old will now once again have his sights set on Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 Major Championships,

He has followed Nicklaus to become just the second player to win the Masters in three different decades, and to win Major Championships 20 or more years apart.

Woods had been two shots clear standing on the 18^th tee, but despite a bogey on the last, wild celebrations followed his final putt, which took him to 13-under and one ahead of countrymen Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele, who was making just his second appearance at The Masters.

Schauffle, who won the 2017 Tour Championship at East Lake, in Georgia, as a rookie and then claimed the HSBC World Championship in Shanghai last  year, said: “It was an awesome experience, first off.

“What I witnessed – I know it’s what everyone is going to talk about. It’s hard to really feel bad about how I played, because I just witnessed history.

“It was really cool coming down the stretch, all the historic holes, Amen Corner, 15, 16, Tiger making the roars.

“I was trying to push myself, but I feel like I got a very full Masters experience here in my second year. I’m not one bit sad. I told my caddie on the last hole that we just proved to ourselves that we can win on this property.”

Overnight leader Francesco Molinari had been right in the mix before finding water twice on the back nine, and the Race to Dubai Champion finished at 11-under alongside Australian Jason Day and Americans Tony Finau and Webb Simpson.

Italy’s European No. 1 put the disappointment around Amen Corner down to the challenging swirling wind which the par three 12th is renowned for, and where he put the ball in the water, before finding the aqua again on the par five 15th.

Molinari said: “It was just a bad execution. We picked the right shot and just didn’t hit it hard enough, simple as that. It was tough today with the wind gusting.

“I managed to scramble well on the front nine. Just had a couple of mental lapses on the back nine, which were costly.

“It’s great to see Tiger doing well. The way he was playing last year, I think we all knew it was coming sooner or later.

“Maybe next time would have been better for me, but it was nice to be out with him, he played well, hit the right shots at the right time and he deserved to win.

“It doesn’t change what I do, I don’t change the way I prepare for Majors. I believe the way I prepare for tournaments is the best way. I’ll just keep doing the same and hopefully I get a bit more luck next time.”

Spain’s Jon Rahm was a shot further back in a tie for ninth place alongside Americans Patrick Cantlay, Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson.

The next Majors are both at venue’s where Woods has already claimed a Major – May sees the USPGA switch from its August date and will head to New York’s Bethpage Park’s Black course, the scene of his 2002 US Open victory.

And in June, Tiger will head back to Pebble Beach, where he famously was the only player under par when winning the US Open by a record 15 shots in 2000 the first leg of his famous Tiger Slam where he won four Majors in a row, culminating at the 2001 Augusta Masters.

Earlier this year Tiger was a 25/1 shot to win two Majors in 2019.

The post Lucky 13 for Tiger as he grabs fifth Green Jacket appeared first on Golf North.

Padraig Harrington is back in Malaysia for the Maybank Championship as he continues to recover from a wrist injury. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

PADRAIG Harrington is teeing off his 2019 season in buoyant mood at the Maybank Championship as his recovery from a wrist injury exceeds expectations.

The next European Ryder Cup captain is making his first appearance in the Kuala Lumpur event.

But the two-time Open winner has previously enjoyed success in Malaysia, recording five top eight finishes in the Malaysian Open, including tied sixth on his last outing six years ago.

Those results also include two runner-up spots, with one coming at this week’s venue, Saujana Golf and Country Club, as he finished just behind fellow three-time Major champion Vijay Singh in 2001.

Harrington, who won the Open at Carnoustie in 2007 before becoming one of just seven players since the war to successfully defend the Claret Jug 12 months later – at Royal Birkdale – admitted he is still not fully fit.

Padraig, who did not realise he had broken a bone in a wrist in a slip before Christmas, until it was spotted in early January requiring a splint, said: “I wouldn’t say the wrist is 100 per cent –it might not be 100 per cent for about nine months, or at least another six or seven months. I’m working away at it.

“It’s interesting to come out here. I hit shots on the range here, I hit shots last week and the wrist is holding up, there’s no doubt about it.

“There’s a certain amount of mobility issues and I need to work on the strength of it, but in general it’s right on track. If anything, it’s probably ahead of expectations.

“Traditionally the Malaysian Open was my first event of the season, if you go back 20 years.

“It’s my first event this year and I’m looking forward to that good karma, let’s say.

“It’s a very good set up this year. The changes to the greens have substantially changed the way the course will play.

“The greens are firm. It looks like the changes are excellent, a really, really good challenge.”

Joining the 2008 USPGA Champion in the field is fellow European Tour and Ryder Cup stalwart Miguel Ángel Jiménez, who echoed Harrington’s praise for the recent changes at Saujana.

The flamboyant Spaniard has enjoyed great success in Asia over the years, with his 21 European Tour victories including five Hong Kong Open titles.

The 55-year-old is feeling as competitive as ever as he successfully balances life on the European Tour and the over 50s circuit, capturing his first two senior Major titles last year including the Senior Open on the Staysure Tour.

Jiménez – nicknamed The Mechanic on Tour – said: “There have been a few changes, the first couple of holes are different.

“The greens are all new. The golf course is in very good shape. I feel comfortable here. I like this kind of weather. It’s nice, I feel good.

“Good golf course, good design. I enjoy coming to Malaysia.

“I’m still playing well on both tours. Now I dedicate more than 20 per cent to senior golf.

“But I still like to play on the European Tour too. I play maybe six tournaments a year.

“I still have my category to play, and as long as I have my category I will keep playing. If I didn’t feel competitive I wouldn’t come here.

“When the moment comes that I don’t feel competitive, I won’t come. There is no point coming just to show up.”

The co-sanctioned Maybank Championship is an event much closer to home for Malaysia’s highest ranked player Gavin Green.

The 2017 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner has played in all three previous editions of the tournament and is relishing the prospect of chasing a first European Tour title, and his second on the Asian Tour, in front of a home crowd.

Green said: “It’s such a big one for me. I love playing in front of a home crowd.

“Maybank have helped me and been with me through the years. It would be really good to play well and finish as high as I can.

“I feel good, I’ve been playing well the last few weeks. I’ve just had a couple of hiccups here and there that disrupted the whole game, but it’s been good so far.

“I got my coach down for a couple of days and worked with him, trying to get ready for this event.”

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