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THE RYDER CUPSeptember 23, 2014Lee WestwoodAUCHTERARDER, SCOTLAND STEVE TODD: Joined by Lee Westwood. Lee, welcome to Gleneagles and to your ninth Ryder Cup. Just give us your general thoughts on how it feels to be here this week. LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I'm obviously delighted to be back at The Ryder Cup. This year, I've played a little inconsistently and that's why I didn't qualify for the team outright, but lucky enough to get a pick from Paul. He's got the confidence in me to give me a pick, and looking forward to my ninth one. Try and win some points for Europe and get my seventh win on the side. STEVE TODD: You and Thomas, the older players on the team, and you are the most experienced player on the team; how is the team atmosphere and how are the rookies settling in? LEE WESTWOOD: Team atmosphere is good. The rookies, they don't feel like rookies anymore. They play such a good game, and they play at all the big tournaments around the world. I don't think it's that much of a shock for them. Obviously there's going to be times this week when they are surprised about certain things, how intense it is and the atmosphere and stuff like that. But they will gradually ease into it as the practise rounds go by, and the Opening Ceremony happens, that's a bit of a lump in the throat sort of type thing, and the gala dinner, that will get them all warmed up for Friday. STEVE TODD: And having played The Ryder Cup in England, Wales and Ireland, how special is it to play now in Scotland, the Home of Golf? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, very special obviously, yeah, the Home of Golf. Golf is closely associated with Scotland, so it's nice to come to Scotland and hopefully the weather is going stay as it is. It's set fair for the week and show off Scotland in all its beauty. There's very few places in the world where you have such spectacular scenery. It's nice to be playing such a big event in such a special spot. Q. You touched on your experience, but also your inconsistent season. Do you come here with extra motivation given that you're here on a pick? LEE WESTWOOD: No, you don't need any extra motivation when it's a Ryder Cup in mind. It's a special week, and I would imagine everybody's right up for it. You know, you wouldn't want any extra motivation, really, or else you would just bubble over in a frenzy. Like I said, it's nice to be here and I don't feel in any way trying to justify a pick. Paul's obviously picked me for a reason. He sees a spot for me and a slot into the team where I should fit, and that's why I'm here. Q. As you've mentioned, this is your ninth Ryder Cup. How do you think this European Team in terms of strength, depth and quality compares to the other eight European Ryder Cup teams that you've played in? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I've played on some strong ones, but I tell you, this is right up there. It's equally as strong. We've got a lot of very good world-class players. Pretty much, with the exception of maybe one, all the big tournaments this year have been won by Europeans and people on this team. We are in a pretty good position. We're confident without being complacent and looking forward to the week and showing how good we can play and coming together as a team. Q. What do you make of Victor? LEE WESTWOOD: It's very difficult to know what to make of Victor. He's quite shy. He's quite unpredictable. He's got a lot of flair. He's got tons of game. He's obviously good at match play, as he proved in Arizona at the start of the year. I think he'll settle into it well. I think he'll be a good team man, and he'll be a spark of energy, I think, as well. Q. I think you've taken Victor out of the equation, but I was going to ask of the three rookies, the one that reminds you when you were in their position, in terms of personality or your game? LEE WESTWOOD: None of them really remind me of me. When I teed up in '97, I didn't really know anybody on the U.S. Team, and there were people that I didn't really know on the European side. I really was kind of a rookie. Those days, we weren't playing World Golf Championships and I had not played in that many majors. So I had really not spent much time with the likes of Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer and people like that. But obviously the rookies nowadays, we play with them an awful lot, and see more of each other, see more of the other team, as well. It's a bit like Jamie Donaldson is more likely to know some of the guys on the U.S. Team more than I would have in '97 known people like Scott Hoch and Brad Faxon and Mark O'Meara and people like that. It's a different type of rookie now. It's a bit easier for them. I don't think it's quite as big a shock. Q. You just touched upon that, about more people knowing more people, and a lot of people are based in the States, yourself included. Are you even more determined to win it because you have to go back there all the time? LEE WESTWOOD: I think it's still us and them. I don't think it's changed much. You know, there's still the intensity there and the will to win and the want to win. Just purely the fact that it's almost -- the top players almost play a bit of a world tour now, the way we all come together for the bigger events, and it's more regular, doesn't really detract from the fact that the Europeans want to show the Americans how good we are at golf, obviously, and you know, to try and keep winning The Ryder Cup. Q. You've always been pretty popular up here in Scotland. Is that all down to Mrs. Westwood, or does it pre-date that? LEE WESTWOOD: I don't know. I think it's -- I'm pretty popular wherever I play (laughter). But obviously Scotland, being in Britain, still, I get a great following up here when I come up and play. Open Championships are brilliant and I've played well in The Open Championship, it seems better in Scotland than I have in England. I've played a lot of tournaments obviously supporting The European Tour through the years and winning the Loch Lomond and things like that and winning the Dunhill. I think when you do that and it happens in a country, you pick up a following. So I think that if you're talking about this week, there's so many people from all over the world, not just Scotland following, that The European Team should have a real great atmosphere around it this week with regards to the bond with the fans. Q. The teams have been evenly matched for the most part for probably the entire time you've been playing The Ryder Cup. Why do you think Europe wins all the time or why do you think the U.S. doesn't? LEE WESTWOOD: I think you're right, I think the teams are very evenly matched. We're maybe slight favourites with regard to we're playing at home. I think whoever has got the advantage becomes slight favourites. But as far as looking at it on paper and matching player for player, it's a very close match. I know the Americans are trying to play the underdog role this week. But I don't see -- I don't see that really working. I don't think there's underdogs and favourites in this. It's just a case of who really holes the putts at the right time, gets the momentum and clings onto that momentum and runs with it as far as possible. Obviously the last one in Chicago, the U.S. Team had momentum over the first couple of days, but we managed to wrestle it from them on Saturday and get ahold of it and use it to our best advantage on the Sunday. And on the Sunday, once again, you look at that, we made the right putts at the right times. Justin Rose and Martin obviously, and Sergio. Q. Is that all it is, putting? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, you've got to get it on the green. You've got to hit the ball well. Certainly, if you analyse The European Team's performance, we played the last hole probably better over the last few years, and that's probably why, because it's so close, it generally comes down to that. That's probably why we've been so successful. Q. I'm assuming that you've seen the pictures of Rickie Fowler's hair? LEE WESTWOOD: I've seen it. I've touched it. I gave it a stroke yesterday on the range. (Laughter). Q. That kind of answers my question then. Wonder if you find it highly intimidating in a Mohican style, or whether you would consider having "Europe" shaved onto your head? LEE WESTWOOD: I know I've got a big head, but I don't know if it's big enough to fit "Europe" on it. I find it, yeah, quite amusing. It's the sort of thing that a 24-, 25-year-old lad that's right behind his team does, I suppose. That's the kind of character he is and fair play to him. Suits him, I think. Looks good. Q. I know you're not a betting man, but if you were a betting man, would you think the U.S. are over-priced at 2 to 1? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, probably. Yeah, I think an even contest like this, as you say, I'm not a betting man (smiling). It will be close. I don't really look at the odds this week. Like I said, it's down to who makes the putts at the right times, and gets that momentum. Momentum is the important thing this week, especially in match play. Q. You've played the course now. Is it an American -- LEE WESTWOOD: No. Q. You haven't? LEE WESTWOOD: No. Q. What have you been doing then? LEE WESTWOOD: I've been playing in Wales. (Laughter). Q. Just following up, the course has had mixed reviews down the years. What were your initial thoughts when it came onto the Tour, and what do you think about how it has evolved? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I think there were improvements needed to be made. I criticised the greens, feels like about eight years ago now, and apparently they put a SubAir system in and it's made a dramatic improvement. I'm looking forward to going out there today and seeing how the changes have been affected. I think the 18th hole has changed. They have raised the tee and changed the green, so that's obviously another improvement, as well. So it will be a great venue for The Ryder Cup. I think, like I said earlier, there's not many more spectacular places in the world to play, and it's the Home of Golf, so it's nice to be playing The Ryder Cup here. Q. You haven't been out to the first tee, I guess, but the whole tunnel going through and the buildup of it, that seems to have evolved quite significantly from, say, Valderrama and '97 going forward. People talking about the nerves of the first tee shot, how much does that jack it up, especially for younger players? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I was nervous on the first tee at Valderrama, and that was without the 3,000 seats at the first tee and all the hype. I would imagine for the rookies, it's going to be a bit of a shock. It's a bit of an intimidating atmosphere, but nothing they can't handle. It sort of bookends the round. You have a big atmosphere when you finish at the 18th green and it prepares you well for all that, standing on the first tee, and having all the hype so early in the day. It really sort of gets you going and gets the juices flowing. Changed a lot, though. Q. Can you just go through how it's changed? When did it first get stands around it? LEE WESTWOOD: Trying to think. Q. Belfry? LEE WESTWOOD: No, not really. Always been a pretty big atmosphere on the first tee. Q. Was it the K Club? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, The K Club, there was a pretty good atmosphere. There was stands up around there, and I was playing with Darren that day, as well, so it had a different kind of meaning to it and sort of different kind of emotions. It's only really recently. Wales, obviously there were big stands around the first tee. Valhalla, there was a big stand behind the tee. It's getting more and more like a cauldron-type atmosphere, an amphitheatre to get your round off. I played with Tom Lehman in the singles in '99 and he got the crowd to sing the National Anthem. That was sort of the buildup to the atmosphere that there is now really around the first tee. Q. You played Phoenix this year, didn't you? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah. Q. Different event, but can you draw any comparisons of having to go through that tunnel on the 16th there? LEE WESTWOOD: Similar, yeah, I suppose. Nothing prepares you, really, for The Ryder Cup, and getting on the first tee there and the atmosphere. I wouldn't say the hairs stand up on the back of your neck when you walk to the 16th tee at Phoenix. But it's a similar sort of arena, I suppose. Q. Do you know anything about the songs that they have got planned? LEE WESTWOOD: No. But they are always creative. They are missing their calling as song writers, I know that. They have got good scriptwriters, whoever they are. I want to be in the pub the night before when they are making them all up. Q. Over the last eight or ten years, this event has exploded. Is it because it's been so dramatic on the course or the way it's been televised? What's behind the position it now has in the sporting calendar? LEE WESTWOOD: I don't know. I don't know whether it's because they are closer, Europe are winning more often now. When there was American domination, I don't know whether that sort of detracted from it over here. Obviously the United States want to win it back, so there's a big following over in America. I think it's just because people have realised that it's different to week-in, week-out golf where they have their favourite golfers. But The Ryder Cup, they can -- it's black or white. They can either be cheering for red or blue. They can pick a team and go with it, really. All that patriotism comes out, I suppose. STEVE TODD: Thanks for joining us. Good luck this week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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