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BARCLAYS SCOTTISH OPEN

July 7, 2005

Lee Westwood

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND

SCOTT CROCKETT: Lee, thanks for coming in. An excellent start to the Barclays Scottish Open, you must be delighted. What was particularly good today?

LEE WESTWOOD: What was particularly good today? Lack of expectation, really. Just went out there and birdied the first, got through the second and bogeyed the second and back to where I started. Struggled a bit the next three holes and then just sort of got it going. I holed a decent putt from about 20 feet on 15, and hit it close on 16, hold it again from 20 feet on 17 and just got a bit of momentum, and all of a sudden it went from seeming a bit difficult to seeming like I was in control.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Nice to finish that way, birdies at 8 and 9.

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, you know, all day long I've not particularly hit the ball all that great, but I'm fairly straight and I'm pretty good now at managing the game. So just hit one more club than I needed to every now and again, and play different kind of shots and rolled a few putts in which I have not done in a long, long time.

Q. What did you think of the greens? Nick Dougherty was staying they were diabolical with the spike marks.

LEE WESTWOOD: I thought they were absolutely fantastic. I mean, he was first out, wasn't he?

Q. He was saying the back nine they were already tearing up.

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, they probably would be, but they were always like that here. You know, you see greens with that kind of grass, and it's generally a very wet golf course and the climate is not really too good for growing grass here. You know, you have to expect that, but I wouldn't say that. I think diabolical is a bit of a strong word.

It certainly is as good as I've seen the course condition wise for the last six, eight years probably. The first couple of years when and Bjorn and Tom Lehman won, the greens were a bit better but that's the nature of laying new grass out. After of a few years, the native grasses come in and they did start to deteriorate a bit. It's certainly as dry as I've ever seen it, a bit of run out there and I think this morning is as easy as the golf course is going to play.

Q. What's your opinion on spikes versus soft spikes?

LEE WESTWOOD: That's my feeling. (Laughter as he puts his shoes on the table to show spikes) I mean, some people choose to use soft spikes and some people choose to use metal spikes. I think there's a maximum poundage for soft spike and I struggle to keep grip with them. I need the maximum poundage. When you walked on cart paths, you didn't make any noise and people didn't turn around and think, "Oh there's a golfer behind me" and you could sort of sneak around. I thought, I'd better err on the side of keeping my balance and standing up, so I put the long ones back in.

Q. You said recently that your difficulty is putting four good rounds together?

LEE WESTWOOD: My difficulty lately is holing putts and making my fair share. Today I made my fair share. I wouldn't say it was a fantastic putting day, probably for other people's standards. But certainly the way I've been playing lately, I've been doing well to get into a position where I finished 13th last week, and was pretty high up in the U.S. Open for a while. Last round at Congressional, I had 38 putts, and you just can't afford to take nine shots more than the average of the average pro on the U.S. tour.

I felt like, you know, I've stuck in there over the last few weeks and worked on my putting and eventually, I've, you know, got what I deserved today.

Q. Is that what you meant by lack of expectation?

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, well, I didn't hit the ball particularly well yesterday in the Pro Am, but I'm putting that down to the hectic few days beforehand; J.P.'s Pro Am was fairly tiring and coming off four tricky rounds around The K Club and a Pro Am there. Didn't have too many expectations. If it worked out quite well this week, it would be something like 12 consecutive days of golf going into the Open Championship, which is not ideal but something that's just happened. Just went out there and tried to just relax and not take it to seriously.

Q. What was the exact day that your changed your mind about the Old Course?

LEE WESTWOOD: Happened over a period of time. Dave Musgrove caddied for me. I wouldn't say it changed instantly. I think I still shot about a 72 or 73. But you go and reshape things over a period of time, when did I make my famous comments, about eight or nine years ago, 24 years old and 32 now and know a bit better, know not to open my mouth because you guys will write it down and I'll get reminded about it for the rest of time. (Laughter).

SCOTT CROCKETT: You liked it a bit better when they handed you that big cheque at the dunhill links!

LEE WESTWOOD: Yes, thatÃ¢ï¿½ï¿½s right, that cheque made a slight impression on me, made me like it a bit more.

Even when I couldn't find my way around there and felt a bit frustrated, I always liked playing around there. It just frustrated me.

Just different ways to play the golf course, it's not one of these golf courses are like ten years ago. I had only been playing golf for ten years, and that was five years as a kid not really knowing what I'm doing, and five years as a professional knowing even less. And a lot of the golf courses are just, you know, fairway is there, you hit it as far down as you can and the green is over there, you hit it as close as you can and you don't have to think on a lot of golf courses.

But you play it the first time, you look at it, it doesn't give you the impression that you have to think about it a lot, it's 120 yards wide, a big flat green at the end of it, but you have to, it's about leave it in the fairway, leave yourself a shot here and you have to know where the flags are and be on certain sides. It's a pretty decent golf course.

Q. I presume it is a week you are looking forward to after last yearÃ¢ï¿½ï¿½s Open?

LEE WESTWOOD: I played well last year at Troon and I played well in the Dunhill last year, my two best rounds were 65 and 67 around the golf course. I played well around the Old Course the year before, have won the Dunhill and I'm fairly confident.

Q. And you will be encouraged by the good build-up?

LEE WESTWOOD: Over the last two weeks? Yeah, although, at the U.S. Open, I think people turn up to these majors and have all these practice rounds, four practice rounds, stuff like that. And you know, by the time the tournament starts, you're knackered, for lack of a better word. I've almost come to the conclusion that these big tournaments, it's better to almost play a round on Tuesday or Monday and then most of Wednesday, your preparation, bring it right back in, just work on your chipping and putting, hit balls for an hour if you want to, but don't go out there, especially something like the U.S. Open, what's the point in going out there and spending six hours in the heat and the sun and tiring yourself out before you've got to do it competitive the next day.

That's the way my preparation will go next week. Probably turn up Monday, have most of Monday off. I'll walk around the golf course around with three or four clubs, sand iron and putter, shuffle around the greens. Play Tuesday morning, spend five or six hours out there, do some practice then and go out Wednesday. Maybe hit a few balls and maybe do three or four holes or something like that or maybe just take wedge, sand wedge, putter out again. The thing with St. Andrews is just keeping out of the bunkers, don't get frustrated and make a few putts.

Q. How many rounds do you need around any course to learn what you need to know?

LEE WESTWOOD: I don't know, it varies for different people. I'd like to get a couple of rounds in there before I play a golf course. Sometimes it's not necessary. Sometimes a course is just there and you see it straightaway, and that's when players turn around and say, this golf course suits my eye, or the golf course is, you know, suits some people's eye and don't suit others.

The first time I ever played this, I thought, yeah, this is right up my street and I've always played really well here. Same with The K Club; I always felt that was right up my street. Some people don't play The K Club well. It's different for different people.

Q. How much will the slow pace of play at St Andrews affect you?

LEE WESTWOOD: Well, the holes are so close together and tough to play, you know you will be waiting on greens for people putting out.

Q. So of all of the things that you have to think about next week, how much does not getting worried about that and not being worked up about it play into your emotions?

LEE WESTWOOD: Well, there's very few things that worry me anyway, but you just have to expect that in major championships, it is a little bit slow because the courses are more demanding, as well. I've never really thought about it to be honest.

Q. So you are happy just to stand and chat on the tees?

LEE WESTWOOD: You know there's going to be four or five groups, you know there's going to be a holdup on 14, and you know there's going to be a holdup 12 because people drive the green; and there will be a holdup on 9 but that's not too bad, normally gets people flowing again.

Q. What do you while you're waiting?

LEE WESTWOOD: Take a book or something out. I don't know, find something to do, just sit there.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Lee, thanks.

End of FastScripts.

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