	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP, DUBAI

November 17, 2016

Lee Westwood

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Q. It looks like a lovely scorecard today. What were the good bits for you?
LEE WESTWOOD: It was all good, really. Played lovely. Hit a lot of fairways, a lot of good iron shots, putted nicely and you know, didn't make too many mistakes out there.

Q. Over the years, you've been used to being the headline act, or one of the headline acts going into almost every tournament you've played in. It seems to some of us that this year you've been able to come in with less attention. Does that help, do you think?
LEE WESTWOOD: Don't know. I'm 12th on the Money List, so it's been a fairly decent year. I'm sixth-last group out, so any time you're there, you feel like a good week this will make it a very good year.

Q. Wasn't disrespectful, but you know what I mean; this concentration, the big three, big four, and you were always a part of that. Is that an incentive or something you just enjoy preparing differently?
LEE WESTWOOD: No, not really. I just look at each we're and take it on its merit, really. I'm working on different aspects of my game and trying to get in shape every week, and hopefully this week, everything is there or thereabouts.

It's a golf course I've played well on in the past and I've had quite a few good results here other than the win, and played pretty well in the desert. I've been looking forward to this week.

Q. And the World Cup, for anyone that has not seen, Danny Willett, you were his partner, he pulled out and it went to two other players; you seem to be speaking through gritted teeth about this.
LEE WESTWOOD: I never played the World Cup before, so I was really looking forward to it, and Kingston Heath is a great golf course. Danny asked me back in August and we were sort of paired together in The Ryder Cup, and we were going to have a go at the World Cup, as well. A little bit disappointed, but you know, everybody has to do certain things for reasons and normally their own in this game. I understand.

Q. Is it the rule, or just the way Chris Wood, without maybe thinking too much, went and picked Andy Sullivan?
LEE WESTWOOD: No, it goes down the World Rankings. I needed to be higher in the World Rankings to pick my partner. Probably shouldn't be expecting a pick if I am playing in the World Cup, but it's up to him to pick whoever he wants. And he gets on with Sully and Sully is a good player, and they will have a chance next week.

Q. What's your expectations for the next three days?
LEE WESTWOOD: Don't really have any expectations. Just trying to keep playing the way I'm playing, keep rolling the ball on the greens at the moment and keep making a lot of birdies. Made seven birdies today and a lot of other chances. So this place holds good memories for me, like I said and it's nice to get a lie in on the second day and hopefully have a chance come the weekend.

Q. What degree of satisfaction do you get from a round of 66?
LEE WESTWOOD: This is as good as I've played for quite some time. I've found a couple of keys in different parts of my game and I've been working on them hard. All came together today. 66 is a good round of golf. Didn't seem that easy out there. Some days you feel like there's a lot of birdies out there but today I think was a pretty stiff test. They took the flags away a little bit. Didn't seem like many first day flags out there, and I managed my game well.

Q. Does that make the satisfaction all the greater when the course is tricky?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I think so. I think you can't have any flaws in your game if you want to shoot a good score today.

Q. Do you harken back to the wonderful rounds of golf you've played around here, and this is yet another one of them.
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, for sure. Any time you play a golf course that you've got good memories on and you've played well on in the past, you remember certain shots you've hit and it helps with certain flags they put out. You get familiar with the golf course, certain flags, and the breeze will be blowing from a certain direction, don't want to miss it in certain spots, and you learn that through years of playing.

Q. I seem to recall that you liked it almost immediately, but I take it it's that much more mature and it's grown into its skin.
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, it's improving all the time. It's a lovely golf course. It rewards good golf and if you're off, then it penalises you, which is all you can ask from a golf course.

Q. Are you feeling the benefit by giving yourself the week off last week?
LEE WESTWOOD: No, not really. I would have liked to play the Nedbank last week. I've played really well there in the past, I've won and lost in a playoff once. It was disappointing not to play in the Nedbank.

Q. But you have more energy maybe; back end of a long, tough year?
LEE WESTWOOD: I wouldn't say I've got anymore energy. Probably do more on my weeks off than I do when I'm playing.

Q. Thinking back to 2009 and what you achieved here, in the context of your career, where would you kind of rank that, and obviously, therefore, the good memories.
LEE WESTWOOD: It's certainly in the top two or three performances in my career. Maybe even best performance of my career, knowing that I needed to win to beat Rory in The Race to Dubai, and did that by six and pretty much dominated the field over the weekend and it's right up there.

Q. Very pleasing way to start this time around?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, it was a good round of golf. Not really too many mistakes out there. A lot of good shots, a lot of birdie chances.

Q. You talked about finding one or two little keys in your game over the last week or so. To the layman, can you explain what the differences are?
LEE WESTWOOD: Not really. I don't particularly want to go into it. I'm working with a few different people and I've been getting clear ideas of what I need to do and I'm doing those and working on them.

Q. No Billy Foster on the bag this week because his knee has flared up. When you've had such a long relationship with the same caddie, does that alter the dynamics?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, leading after one round with Billy not here, he'll be sat at home kicking himself even more than he normally does. It's just one of them things. Bad turn in China and I told him to take Turkey off and he stuck at it. And I think when he got home, it was a little bit more serious than he first thought.

He needs a few weeks rest and a bit of treatment on his knees and he'll be back for Abu Dhabi at the start of next year.

Q. Does it change the dynamics for you when you're out there?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I probably have to do more, think a little bit more. Billy normally thinks for me, which is probably a good thing. Obviously a different caddie doesn't know my game. He's only had one round on the bag, and that was in the Pro-Am on Tuesday and I wasn't particularly sharp then. He's sort of making it up as he goes along. I have full confidence in him, and his yardages and the way he reads the wind and stuff like that. Put my game to his information.

Q. How frustrating is it not to be making the trip to Australia for the World Cup?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I've been looking forward to it for a few months now, so it's frustrating. It's a tournament I've never played in before and nice to represent England and it's a great golf course by all accounts. I love playing in Australia, so, yeah, I'm disappointed not to be playing.

Q. Can you understand Chris Wood's position in all of this?
LEE WESTWOOD: I can understand him picking a mate and he's picked a very good player. You know, I think it's probably more to do with the rules than anything. I think the week before somebody is meant to go down there is a little late to say, no, you're not playing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297