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THE 148TH OPEN

July 21, 2019

Lee Westwood

Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Q. How do you feel? How hard was it out there today?
LEE WESTWOOD: It was a tough day out there today, wasn't it? Yeah, everything was hard. Driving was hard. It was hard to get in the fairways. Iron shots, hard to control the distances. Putting was really tricky. There's some really exposed greens out there. You find yourself giving it a couple of foot for the breeze and then don't move, and on the next it takes it sideways. So that's frustrating.

But I'm pleased, yeah. I played well. Really solid today. It was a good 73.

Q. It was quite an achievement.
LEE WESTWOOD: It's good, yeah. I was starting to moan and groan a little bit coming down the stretch. The legs started to ache a bit. No, I'm still pretty fit and don't feel 46.

I love playing golf, and especially around great golf courses like this.

Q. A word on Shane Lowry.
LEE WESTWOOD: He's done brilliantly. All the chasers would have wanted tough conditions and he's played -- clearly played brilliantly, hasn't he, to be on the score he has under the pressure he's under.

Q. See you watching Brooks Koepka. A top-4 finish would be better than a top-5.
LEE WESTWOOD: I think top-4 gets me in the Masters. I never wish anybody ill but it would be nice to play Augusta again. I've missed it the last couple of years.

Q. You said you had a good week.
LEE WESTWOOD: It was brilliant. How do you sum up a fifth in a major championship? I played great. I played two major championships this year. I missed the cut at the PGA, the golf course didn't really suit me. And then The Open I always feel like I can perform at The Open. I think it doesn't just suit one style of play. It brings in everybody to it. You don't have to be a bomber, which I'm probably not anymore.

You've just got to have cunning and guile and know how to get your ball around, especially when it gets like this.

Q. You've played tougher conditions, but tougher conditions combined with the difficulty of the course?
LEE WESTWOOD: There's three holes, and unfortunately we were playing 9, 10, 11 at that stage, and they were some of the toughest conditions I've played in an Open Championship. I remember it being colder and raining more. But just to hit that spot in the golf course when it got its worst, you really had to head down and keep it low.

Q. How much would it mean to go back to Augusta?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, it would be brilliant. Augusta is a very special place. And I played great in the past, I had a chance to win it. Augusta is another one I don't strictly think it's a bomber's paradise, although I think it helps. If you've played it a lot and you play it well, there's a lot of repeat winners.

I feel like I can get it around there. I've had a couple of close calls, second a couple of times and third a couple of times. So, yeah, not to count chickens, but it would be lovely to go back.

Q. (Inaudible.)
LEE WESTWOOD: No more than winning in South Africa the end of last year did. I felt comfortable out there today and they were tough conditions. I'm still working hard on everything and I don't feel like my game is dropping off. I feel like I'm still capable of winning tournaments.

Q. (Inaudible.)
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, absolutely. There's no time like the moment if I keep myself fit. Technology has brought older people into it now. The drivers go further. I've always been a pretty good driver and iron player. And I'm starting to make a few more putts now. I had a lot of good putts today that didn't go in, just grazed the hole.

So, yeah, I'm looking forward to the rest of the year and see what next year has in store. I've hardly played this year. I think I've played about 11 events. Most people have played about 25 at this stage. So I'm time-management conscious with how many tournaments I play, and I try and do it like that.

You can't play 30 events when you get to 46. The body won't let you. You've got other priorities. But you can play 20, 22 quality ones and get ready for them.

Q. What are you most proud of today?
LEE WESTWOOD: Lovely rescue like 2-iron into the second from 286 to about 25 feet. Just drew it on the wind, that was nice. Lovely little chippy 8-iron and ran it on the green on 10 and made the putt. Hitting the 17 fairway -- finishing the -- that's got to be the hardest fairway in the world under today's conditions.

So, yes, I hit a lot of good shots all day.

Q. Confidence is important this week.
LEE WESTWOOD: No, my confidence has been good. I finished 10th at the BMW a few weeks ago in Germany, and only three off the playoff. And really had my chances, didn't putt well at all. The last two weeks I felt like I played well and not really been given anything, my fair share of anything. And then this week you need all the 30-, 40-footers to get your momentum going. It was good.

Q. (Inaudible.)
LEE WESTWOOD: Well, that's a good one. I haven't crossed that bridge yet. Hopefully I get there, yeah. Not counting my chickens yet.

Q. Tell us what it's been like to have The Open here again.
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I mean, I played here in the Amateur championship in '93 and it's a fantastic golf course. I enjoyed it then. Unfortunately, I couldn't come in when the Irish Open was here. But it's been a long time obviously coming back to Royal Portrush, and the crowds have shown that there's an appetite to have it a bit sooner than 70 years.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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