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BMW INTERNATIONAL OPEN

August 25, 2004

Lee Westwood

MUNICH, GERMANY

SCOTT CROCKETT: Lee, many thanks for coming in. It's a big week looking ahead and it was a big week looking back. Start with reflections on the win and how it fitted in with your whole season.

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, obviously it was a big turning point for me last year. I played three previous weeks in America, not particularly well, but started to play a little bit better.

My short game looked pretty good and my putting was a bit better. I had to go with the belly putter and used that for three weeks. Then I came here not with a massive amount of confidence, but went on the range on a Tuesday and hit the ball well. Then went out in the shootout and hit the ball well there. Played in the Pro-Am at about 10:30. That in itself over a couple of days gave me quite a bit of confidence. Then shot 67 and took it from there, really. Surged to 30. So it was obviously a big turning point in the season and I won again four weeks later and played well in the German Masters three weeks later. So that was a good time of the year.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Thoughts for this week; how do you look to be coming in as defending champion?

LEE WESTWOOD: Well, it's been awhile since I've defended a tournament. I played the course yesterday it looks in fantastic condition, better than last year. They have had some rain, so the greens are longer. The greens are in excellent condition. The whole course in general is improved. Credit to the greens staff for getting it in such good condition.

Q. Was it emotional last year, winning; and could you do 10 or 11 birdies today again?

LEE WESTWOOD: I'll try for you. (Laughing.) Yeah, it was very emotional. Obviously played poorly for a couple of years there. And when you go out on the range and you're working hard and not seeing any benefit from the hard work or sort of, you just feel like you're banging your head against the wall. So it was nice to, you know, get something out of the hard work I've been doing.

Q. Obviously across both tables you are in a fairly good position, but how much are you ready for the Ryder Cup when you get that first -- inaudible?

LEE WESTWOOD: I figured out that there was going to be about 1,200,000 to be really sure; and 1,150,000, I'd be disappointed if that missed. I went past that figure a long time ago, and I think it was after the European Open.

So I played sort of the last two months without really thinking about the Ryder Cup too much. Not that I thought very much previous to that. It normally just comes into the tournament I'm trying to play and the Ryder Cup will take care of itself, to be honest. Ryder Cup is one of those things if you actually think about it and put yourself under pressure by saying, yeah, I'm going try to make the team, it gets to be like a list of players that run into the Ryder Cup wall and all of a sudden start stop making points because you're thinking Ryder Cup and not thinking just try and win this week.

Q. Can you suggest, I know you're a Monty supporter, but who would your two picks being at the moment?

LEE WESTWOOD: I don't really want to say. I'd rather leave that to Bernhard. That's his job.

Q. Do you think he can handle that fine, not coming till the weekend he has it sorted?

LEE WESTWOOD: I think he'll have a fair idea. And maybe the events of this week might change his mind in certain players direction. Maybe he's thinking of one person for sure, and then one of three people; and if one of those three people were to win this week, then maybe they might get in. So you can draw your own conclusions.

Q. What is your schedule after next week?

LEE WESTWOOD: Taking next week off and the German Masters off. Playing the Ryder Cup, taking the week off, and I think it goes till The Match Play, if I get in that, the World Golf Championships. That's about as far ahead as I can think.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Is it hard not to think about the Ryder Cup? Most of the thoughts here this week are looking forward to it, but as a player, is it hard?

LEE WESTWOOD: I honestly won't being thinking about it until probably the weekend before, the weekend of German Masters. I've got a few things to do in the next couple of weeks, a bit more of a priority than the Ryder Cup.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Lee, thank you very much for coming in today.

End of FastScripts.

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