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IRISH OPEN

May 17, 2007

Lee Westwood

ADARE, IRELAND

GORDON SIMPSON: Lee, 1-under today, coming on top of your victory in Spain, it seems that you're on something of a roll at the moment. How do you feel about the last few days?
LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I'm holing putts at the right time which is, you know, very important when you're trying to win. A a birdie at 5, birdie at 17 and that was about it, and playing solidly tee-to-green which I have been most of the year. Not making too many mistakes.
GORDON SIMPSON: How satisfying was it to get back in the winner's circle again because you're a proven winner and to not do it for a few years must have been frustrating.
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, playing well but not making enough putts, it is frustrating. I think sometimes you can't see what the reason for it is. It be just hitting the right shots at the right time and that's the difference. Sorted things out last week and carried it on today.

Q. You were shaking your hand after the shot on the 9th?
LEE WESTWOOD: On 9, just jarred it a bit. Yeah, it's fine, yeah, should be all right.

Q. Why did you do so well today, do you think?
LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I think it's a very good golf course. I wouldn't say it's one of my favourite golf courses in Ireland, but I think I'm slightly swayed due to the fact that they just lengthened it was a mistake to be quite honest. The new tee on 11 was completely unnecessary; the new tee on 9 is completely unnecessary. This golf course is in Ireland, it's not in Florida.
The rough, if you're going to grow the rough that long, obviously you want it penal, and it certainly is that. You know, you can't get much out of it if you're getting -- around the greens it's very thick, so you start missing greens, it's easy to get on a bogey run.
GORDON SIMPSON: Do you think there should be a balance that's brought to courses; do you feel that's not the case here?
LEE WESTWOOD: They vary the setup of the courses. Last week there wasn't too much rough. You still need to hit fairway. You need to control the spin on the ball. There were quite a few irons off the tee, and this week it's mainly driver everywhere.
You know, if you get a 30-mile-an-hour-wind around here one day, it could make it look a bit dust, and you can only put so many tees up. But with a prestigious title like the Irish Open is, it ought to be tough to win it, and you have to play well. And whoever hits a lot of greens is probably going to win it.
Well, it's hard to tell. 11 definitely would have played an iron and back flag today even would have been 5-wood, rescue in there; it's no wider than this room. I just can't see the point in putting a new tee in there. I couldn't see the logic in that one.
But we did play off most of the back tees. I think there's a couple of them that are moved forward, moved up, but that was only 3-wood, 9-iron yesterday. So it would have played probably 5-wood 9-iron today, if they moved a few of the long par 4s -- but I like long par 4s. I think it's good to have to hit the fairway and then have to hit 4-iron in or 5-iron in like I did on 8. I think some holes should be difficult to par.
When you see a course like this, it makes most other weeks seem quite easy tee-to-green. Fortunately it's rained, so the fairways are playing a little bit wider. I can't imagine if it was firm out there on the 9th pitching and the wind is off the left and you're pitching off a sidehill lie and bouncing off into the rough and all that. We're lucky that we've had some rain.
But yeah, you know, it tests you to the limit, it tests your patience and you can get frustrated out there and when you get frustrated that's when you start to lose track of your score.

Q. Inaudible
LEE WESTWOOD: Most certainly, yeah. Next week's normally a bit rough and narrow fairways but won't play much harder than this you'll find this week. This is a pretty severe test.

Q. What has improved with your putting?
LEE WESTWOOD: Stroking it to the ball, came off the line I was trying to start it on and then, you know, you start seeing a few putts going in and it gets your confidence going and you feel like you can make a few more.
The one on the 9th there, I saw the line straightaway and fortunately started on the right line and I would have made a lot more today. I would have got it to the hole. Obviously left them a little bit longer because they were expecting some strong winds that didn't come yet. But, yeah, I started the putter on the right line there, too.

Q. When did you start to putt that way?
LEE WESTWOOD: Last Friday. I think that's fairly obvious. Since last Friday. You're not paying attention, are you. Where have you been, the moon? (Laughing) Oh, you've got a reason then.

Q. How long have you had that putter?
LEE WESTWOOD: That one in particular, the first round and after that -- yeah.

Q. You own 162 putters?
LEE WESTWOOD: Roughly. Not all in competition, no. You can borrow one if you want to.

Q. I thought it was 200 putters?
LEE WESTWOOD: I exaggerated last week. I had a chance to count on Monday night. I've used a lot of different putters over the years, yeah -- more than that.
GORDON SIMPSON: How many have you won with?
LEE WESTWOOD: I've won with probably seven or eight, maybe ten different ones.

Q. Inaudible
LEE WESTWOOD: I just remembered, but the one I won most tournaments in is hanging up in Wentworth and I couldn't find it, and I went to Wentworth a couple of months ago and realised it was hanging on the wall. (Laughter).
GORDON SIMPSON: Will you ask for it back?
LEE WESTWOOD: No, I don't think I'll use that one again. That one's worn out.

Q. What's the rough like?
LEE WESTWOOD: You miss a fairway by three yards and you can't see your ball.

Q. Were you hot under the collar?
LEE WESTWOOD: I've never really gotten too wound up, but doing a bit of chattering walking up to the front edge of the green.

Q. Inaudible
LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I've won on golf courses I don't really like -- I don't think it much to do with the golf course. Obviously if you stand on -- if you fall in love with a golf course the first time you've played it, that helps. But I've played on golf courses I didn't like. I've won tournaments where I haven't been playing very well.
But I think it's more important to be making the putts at the right time, making the 12-footers just to say par occasionally, like the one on the second, that poorish drive and I got it up there in the rough somewhere and pitched it up to 12 feet and made that. Those sort of things can keep the momentum of your round going more than anything.

Q. Is there something inside you that makes you think at some point: 'I can win this'?
LEE WESTWOOD: No, not really. I don't start thinking about it until a few holes from the end of the tournament. There's not really too much point in thinking about it too much.

Q. How far was the par save on 18?
LEE WESTWOOD: About 20 feet I guess. The greens are putting well out there. Albeit they are a little bit slower than they were yesterday, if you start it on line, they run pretty true.

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