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HSBC WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

October 15, 2004

Lee Westwood

SURREY, ENGLAND

GORDON SIMPSON: Lee, it's been a real battle today; how do you feel at this moment?

LEE WESTWOOD: Shattered! I've got a bit of a cold and a bit of a sore throat, but other than that, I don't feel too bad. Obviously it was a long day, tiring. Rough is pretty heavy as well. It's obviously going to be a difficult day. The last group has a few holes today. Just get a good night's sleep and recharge for tomorrow.

GORDON SIMPSON: You built up a pretty good cushion to see you through, didn't you.

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I played well this morning. I shot 66 and then came out pretty good this afternoon. Eagled 4th and birdied the 5th to go 5-up.

Retief was pretty much up against it then. Hit a bad tee shot off the 7th, just about the only place you can't hit it. And then came straight back with a good birdie at 9 and 5-up again and felt pretty comfortable. Even though Retief came at me with hitting it stiff at 10; we halved 12 with birdies; he hit it stiff again at 15. I had a bad shot at 16, just lack of concentration more than a bad shot. It was a good shot, but just the wrong shot at the time. And then a good halve and birdied the 17th.

So it was a good quality match. Retief probably would say he don't hole as many putts as he would have liked to. But it's about taking opportunities and grabbing momentum in the match, which I did this morning by winning the last and coming out and winning two of the first five.

Q. What was the bad shot selection on 16?

LEE WESTWOOD: We were getting so much spin on the greens, I was very conscious of that and I tried to -- 118 yards, which I would just normally clip a wedge in, but I knew it would spin back 30, 40 feet and I was trying to get it offer the flag and keep it there. I just tried to drive it in low and just hit it too hard, really, with delofting it and carried through the back. It was dead once I got back there.

But I hit a lot of good the shots coming down the stretch, a great tee shot on 17. When you've lost two holes in a row, the pressure could get to you, and Retief hit it down the middle. You know, I was pleased with the way I finished it off.

Q. Do you enjoy match-play?

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I've always enjoyed match-play. I played it a lot as an amateur, Nottinghamshire in England, obviously, and it was something I had always got a pretty good record at and as a pro got a pretty good record at it, as well.

Q. You give the impression of being unflappable out there?

LEE WESTWOOD: That's one of the keys to match-play, to could have really not to panic. Even though I lost a couple of holes, being 2-up with two to play, you're in you're own hands. If you hit a couple of shots on the 17th, make birdies, it's going to be very difficult to lose the holes when you go through. So the key is not to panic and just play your own game and don't really worry about what the other player is doing.

Q. Do you watch the other player in match-play?

LEE WESTWOOD: I'll watch him play, but it's no bearing on my decisions or what I'm thinking on the golf course.

On 17? I'd still hit driver but I'd be aiming a bit further right. It wouldn't change my philosophy.

Q. You've beaten the Open and US Open Champions?

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I worked through the draw and I thought it was going to be a pretty tricky draw, working my way through the major champions. And Vijay lost this morning to Bernhard in what I believe was a good match. So I have to be content with the U.S. Open Champion and the British Open Champion. (Laughing).

Q. What's the key to your success in match-play?

LEE WESTWOOD: Keep the ball in play a lot, and I am a pretty good putter. So, yeah, it's quite difficult to beat me. I don't give too many holes away, and I'm good at holing out from inside eight feet for halves and wins.

Q. Was the final with Colin (Montgomerie) your best match here?

LEE WESTWOOD: I've had some great matches. I had a great match with Ernie that year. I beat him 1-up. I beat Sergio Monty and Ernie that week. I was still seeded; that was a fairly tricky route to the finals, wasn't it? I've had a lot of good matches here, a lot of good quality golf.

End of FastScripts.

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