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QUINN DIRECT BRITISH MASTERS

May 10, 2006

Lee Westwood

WISHAW, ENGLAND

LEE WESTWOOD: The state of my game is not too bad. Not fantastic. Going from week to week. Played very well in New Orleans and putted awful. I really could have got in there with a chance. Just hitting the odd bad shot now and again. Didn't play very well last week at Wachovia but think I have sorted it out this week. The nice thing about it is that I am managing to get it back quicker now than I was in the past. Technically it has improved. I had a good putting lesson yesterday with Stan Otley. Hadn't planned on working with him or anything like that but he has been working with Paul McGinley and Darren and I have been impressed with the way their putting has improved so I thought I would see what he says. He gave me a few good tips. I feel quite positive about it and putting is a lot about confidence. If you get your confidence going it self perpetuates.

Q. You were the supreme confidence putter once?

LEE WESTWOOD: I probably won the Order of Merit in 2000 simply by putting very well. I don't think my game was as good as 1998 and 99 but I led both putting stats - the putts per greens in regulation and total putts. If you do that and you have the resemblance of a long game you will have a chance most weeks.

Q. You said at the time you had a putting secret and you weren't even going to tell it to your mother?

LEE WESTWOOD: I know, I wish I had. I can't remember it.

Q. It wasn't one your dad passed on to you?

LEE WESTWOOD: I wish I had told somebody or written it down. All those things you feel on the range when you are flushing it and then three days later you can't remember it.

When you talk about a bad putting week at New Orleans, is that by your standards?

No, anybody's standards. I was three under after 17 and doubled the last. I was playing with Langer and he came over and shook my hand shaking his head. He said "You played a lot better than one under." I relied "It has not escaped my notice Bernhard." Eight times I was inside ten feet on nice greens in the first 17 holes. Scotchy thought I was missing the hole on purpose.

Q. Your form wasn't great coming here for the 2002 Ryder Cup either so that must give you confidence?

LEE WESTWOOD: This is a golf course I always enjoy coming to and love playing. The Ryder Cup week I played well but when we have had tournaments here I haven't played that well on it. Having said that this time of year, having just come back from America, my game has never been in that good a shape for some reason. I enjoy playing on these greens, very similar to LA at the start of the year. I like the course and the way it is set up, rewards good driving and if you are aggressive you can go at a lot of greens with shorter clubs.

Q. When you think about that Ryder Cup in 2002 what is the first thing that comes to your mind?

LEE WESTWOOD: Just relief really. I knew I wasn't playing very well but it was a Ryder Cup so you are not going to say you are not playing. It was nice to get it round and make quite a few birdies. I had a good putting week. Holed a lot of 20-30 footers which make up for a multitude of sins in match play. Someone who is not playing well from tee to green and then holes from 20-30 feet makes a big difference in match play.

Q. You never thought of not playing?

LEE WESTWOOD: No. I qualified so it would have been unfair to the other team to not play.

Q. You seemed to enjoy the week more than any other for a long time?

LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah. I enjoyed playing with Sergio. He is great to play with, good fun and we are great mates now. It all stemmed from that week.

Q. Going forward to this Ryder Cup, there seems to be so many playing in America is it going to be a case of too many chasing spots through the World Points list? It could count against us?

LEE WESTWOOD: It looks like it will do but a lot happens through the summer and a lot can change. This week for example we are playing for half a million points. You win this or next week or the week after and you are almost guaranteed to be in the side. It is too early to say but if you are looking at it now, somebody is going to miss out.

Q. Are you confident it won't be you?

LEE WESTWOOD: No I am not confident it won't be me. But I am not prepared to change my schedule for the sake of playing in one week's golf. I love playing in The Ryder Cup and it is a very proud moment when you do play and tee it up. But I am doing this for a living and I have years in the future to plan for and I set my stall out last year to give it a few years in America and playing on their Tour and I am going to stick to that. I don't see any reason for changing.

Q. Would you like to think your record in the Ryder Cup would be good enough to get you a pick if it came down to it?

LEE WESTWOOD: I have a good record in The Ryder Cup and have won twice round the course they are playing it at but other people will have similar credentials. Woosie will pick who he thinks is playing best at the time and who is in form. I am of the opinion that if you do not qualify automatically then you don't deserve to be there and leave the last two spots open to someone striking form at the right time.

Q. But you have plenty of opportunities still to qualify?

LEE WESTWOOD: I have loads of opportunities to qualify for the team. I have given myself a good run now. There are only two weeks between now and the end of the qualifying - Barclays and Booz Allen - which don't count for the money list qualification so if I don't qualify I don't deserve to play.

Does pressure come with it?

No because I have never really thought about it. Qualifying doesn't come into my mind. I have always felt that is why people struggle to make the team when they tee it up with a view to qualifying for the Ryder Cup. They should be teeing it up thinking about hitting a good drive and a good second shot and putting for birdie.

You are aware what Woosnam said last week?

LEE WESTWOOD: I have no idea.

Q. He said when it comes down to the Wild Cards he will probably go for those who have supported Europe. I remember you saying very vociferously that the team should be European wherever you play?

LEE WESTWOOD: I still believe that.

Q. Can he be in a position to do that?

LEE WESTWOOD: They have opened up backdoors to qualify. With this category 15 that Justin was talking to me about last week and Greg Owen, Alex Cejka.

Q. But he can't afford to not put forward his best team can he?

It is not for me to say. He is the captain.

Q. But if Luke for example doesn't qualify as one of the ten?

LEE WESTWOOD: But Luke is a world class player.

Q. He is very close to not be in the top ten at the moment?

LEE WESTWOOD: But it is all hypothetical. That is why the captain is the captain and his game suffers while his captaincy is on. He has to make lots of decisions. That's why I am not the captain and I am not thinking about it.

Q. Does 5-5-2 to qualify need looking at because so many are playing in America?

LEE WESTWOOD: Somebody is going to be unhappy whichever way you do it.

Q. Monty's view is always pick the team?

LEE WESTWOOD: That is my view as well but you then leave it very much to the personal choice of the captain and it is nice that you can qualify without anyone else having any effect on it.

Q. Like amateur golf?

LEE WESTWOOD: It would be like amateur golf and in amateur golf people got left out.

Q. You got left out when you thought you should be playing?

LEE WESTWOOD: I was talking in the third person.

Q. But if you had a preferred way of picking a Ryder Cup team?

LEE WESTWOOD: I would have ten off the world ranking points list and two picks. And I like the way the Americans have gone with double points for this year.

Q. So you are effectively saying the Ryder Cup should not be some sort of tool for The European Tour?

LEE WESTWOOD: I can see why The European Tour use it that way. It is a massive revenue generator and brings a lot of prestige to The European Tour. And they need that with a lot of people playing in the United States. There are going to be fors and against. Some people are going to be pleased and some aren't. You just have to get on with it. Everyone knows the qualifying process before it starts.

Q. Are you pretty sure it will work out anyway and this is just normal pre Ryder Cup chatter?

LEE WESTWOOD: I would say it is. If you have great players struggling to make the team you must have great players in there already.

Q. Some way down the line would you like to be Captain?

LEE WESTWOOD: I would love to be captain.

Q. What would you bring?

LEE WESTWOOD: All the captains I have played under have been very good and brought different things. Some have been fiery and other ice cold, others funny. I would probably be a bit of everything. Try and be calm, present that confidence and attitude to the team as the players are nervous enough as it is. It is nice to see somebody on the first tee. That is the nice thing about having experienced players in the team. It is nice to give a rookie to an experienced player as he can put an arm around him and say this is what is going to happen and you are going to be nervous on the first tee. You have to put the right people together.

End of FastScripts.

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