ABERDEEN STANDARD INVESTMENTS SCOTTISH OPEN

October 2, 2020

Lee Westwood

The Renaissance Club

Quick Quotes

Q. What were you pleased with today?

LEE WESTWOOD: I was actually pleased, really. I felt like I didn't have much go my way. Missed a couple of short ones early on at 11 and 12, hit it in the bunker on 16, which was the only place you couldn't go, made 6 in the end. Ran a lot of putts close. And when I did hit it slightly off-line, instead of finishing just in the semi, it would finish in the thickest possible clump I could find.

Just got a flying lie on -- I hit a 9-iron 180 yards on 4, just things like that, and then left a putt hanging on the lip. Pleased that I stuck with my game plan, and 71 feels like an all right score. They toughened the course up. They put the flags on the side of hills. The pin positions were noticeably tougher, so I can only apologise to everybody for shooting 63 yesterday.

Q. You'd take it some days, though, don't you.

LEE WESTWOOD: It's one of them things. Golf is like that; some days you get the breaks and other days it all goes against you, and today felt like one of those days.

Q. Nice putt on 8, though, good momentum?

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, nice to hole that one. The previous hole, as you know, I was trying to miss that flag on the right-hand side, just on the right-hand side of the green. It rolls this much further into a thick spot and had a tough chip down the green there, and all of a sudden you're looking at past the flag and it running off and you can take 6 again. If it stops a yard short, then you're looking at a birdie. Just little things like that all day, really.

Q. In contention going into the weekend; that's the plan, isn't it.

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I'm in a good position obviously. Looking at the forecast the weather is going to change, and hopefully it'll get tougher over the weekend. I'd like it as tough as possible. I'm hitting the ball well and my game feels like it's in a good place, and I don't want it so it's a birdie fest out there.

Q. 9-under after two rounds; I'd say that's a cracking score. Are you happy today?

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, delighted. Things didn't go my way today and got a lot of bad breaks and stuck to my game plan, didn't become impatient and lose the head, and ground it out, and 71 feels like a good score.

Q. Did you have to be patient out there today?

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, very patient. Like I said, things weren't going my way, and easy to become frustrated after shooting 9-under yesterday, and I didn't do that and just kept hitting it in the places I was aiming for, and the ball just wouldn't go in the hole today.

Q. You're in contention going into the weekend. The weather is set to turn tomorrow. Will that suit you?

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, hopefully. I'd like it tougher than it is right now. There's too many birdies and the golf course is playing a little bit too easy at the moment. Yeah, I'd like it tougher. I played well at the U.S. Open in their tough conditions two weeks ago, and I generally don't win tournaments where it's a birdie fest. I normally come in at the top when it's playing tougher, the golf course is tougher.

Q. You've played this course an awful lot over the last few years. How has it changed and evolved over that time?

LEE WESTWOOD: It's not change that much. Maybe they've put a few new tees in here and there. It was a good golf course anyway. As long as I've been coming here I've enjoyed playing this golf course. It's like any golf course, a links course; if it's flat calm like this then it's there for the taking, but once the conditions worsen you've got these natural defenses of win and rain, which normally happens around here, it's a totally different animal. Yeah, it's an enjoyable golf course to play. Myself and Poults' caddie were saying out there walking around on a day like today, there's very few better places to play golf in the world than like this coast up past St. Andrews.

Q. It may bare its teeth tomorrow.

LEE WESTWOOD: Hopefully, yeah. We might see it tougher.