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DUBAI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY DP WORLD

November 21, 2009

Lee Westwood

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

GORDON SIMPSON: Well, Lee, a round of 66 today, another fantastic effort, and it seems to be you're absolutely determined you're not going to let anyone pass you. Is that how you feel, that sort of intensity?
LEE WESTWOOD: I'm determined to keep enjoying it and stick to this game plan that I've got, and hopefully it will be successful.
GORDON SIMPSON: It's looking good going into the last round. You presumably would have taken a couple-shot lead at the start of the week.
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I would have done at start of the week.
Today Ross played phenomenally well. He hit a lot of good shots. It's been a while since I've played with him and he's improved a lot for sure. Obviously the win in Madrid will give him a lot of confidence and he'll be a tough man to beat tomorrow, playing with him as the nearest challenger. But there are other people there or thereabouts as well.
GORDON SIMPSON: There are some big names just lurking underneath who could still go low.
LEE WESTWOOD: Right behind. So got to be on my guard and stick to this strategy I've got and keep playing the way I'm playing, because it's as well as I've played in quite some time.

Q. What is the specific strategy, please, Lee.
LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I'm not going to tell you that. That would give away then, wouldn't it. (Laughter).

Q. Even if you're not looking at leaderboards, how much did you see of what Rory was doing?
LEE WESTWOOD: Only time we saw him was coming up 18 and I really couldn't sort of see in the distance what was going on. They swing pretty similar and they were dressed pretty similar and I was too busy trying to play one of the toughest holes on the golf course strategically, and I managed to play it well.
So I was more concerned with what I was doing than anybody else.
GORDON SIMPSON: A couple of people have come undone there. It will be an interesting finish tomorrow for some, I would imagine.
LEE WESTWOOD: Not surprising. It's a definitely hole, especially playing into the wind. You've got three tough shots.

Q. When the big putts came along, you holed them; that must be really satisfying for you in a tournament of this importance.
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, well, I got off to a good start, rolling in a nice 18-footer I suppose at the first for par, after the only blip of the day really, then missed a short one at the second, so was kind of giving me one, take away on the next. But made a nice one at 4 and then missed a few around to 9, had some good chances. Holed a nice 10-footer at 9 just to keep the momentum going when Ross was on a his charge. He was on his fourth birdie in a row and didn't want him to get away from me and came back with two more birdies after that.

Q. The one on 11 was particularly long, wasn't it?
LEE WESTWOOD: The one on the 4th was the longest out of the whole day. The one on 11, you hope you'll hole, 20 feet straight uphill. If you put a good stroke on it, it has a good chance on these greens because they are pretty true.

Q. You have still got your work cut out obviously to win the tournament, but with Rory five shots behind, all to play for in The Race to Dubai --
LEE WESTWOOD: I'm paying no attention to The Race to Dubai. We'll talk about that tomorrow night. Or we may not talk about it tomorrow night. All I'm concerned about is this tournament, and I've told you that all week. I think I'm proving that that's the way to go about things.

Q. You mentioned yesterday that you enjoy times like these. Can you sort of articulate how much enjoyment you had today?
LEE WESTWOOD: I really enjoyed today. I had a great time today. I felt I had a lot of control. I was seeing the lines on the greens. I enjoyed playing with Ross. We both played well. It's nice when things like that happen. Like I said a couple of days ago, I've had the highs, I've had the lows and I'm back on a high again, so I'm enjoying it.

Q. Your reluctance to talk about your strategy, does that mean that there's something that we don't know about, because obviously you've told us a lot of things that you've done this week like not looking at score boards this week. Is there a part of the strategy you're keeping quiet about --
LEE WESTWOOD: There's nothing too secretive or illegal. (Laughter) but I mean, why talk about it? It's nobody's business or importance apart from mine and Billy's until the end of the week.

Q. Because we'd all be very interested to know what it is.
LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I'll tell you tomorrow night.

Q. Not now?
LEE WESTWOOD: Definitely not. (Laughter).

Q. What difference does it make?
LEE WESTWOOD: Because people will read it and crib off it. It's like copying an exam. (Laughter) Did you do that in school, Peter? (Laughter).

Q. How well are you playing this week compared to other tournaments this year?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I'm playing really well. This is I think as good as I feel like I've swung it and played almost all year. I played really well in Portugal. I think it's at least on a par with that, if not a bit better.

Q. Can you remember ever talking during a tournament as confidently as you've talked this week, and behaving as confidently as you are on the golf course to back it up, as well?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, when I was winning a lot in the late -- last century, I suppose you want to call it. I mean, we were all a lot younger. I had this kind of attitude.

Q. You said how well and phenomenally Ross played. Can you remember a final two ball which has produced such stunning golf that you've played in, 12 birdies, no bogeys, you're slugging it out?
LEE WESTWOOD: It was brilliant, yeah. Just look at the shot that Ross hit into the end out of the trap. That was a fantastic shot. You know, him playing so well kept me going, driving me on and focused all day. Not that I needed to be anymore, but it certainly helps when two of you play well together. You feed off each other.

Q. You said in Portugal you wanted to act more cocky. Are you deliberately employing that?
LEE WESTWOOD: I wouldn't be outwardly cocky. I'm just trying to be more confident.

Q. Nothing about the strategy. Everything has gone so well in the first three rounds. Is it different tomorrow? You talked at the start of the week about needing to put yourself in position for the last day. You've done that. Do you keep things exactly the same, or is there a slightly different situation when you're obviously so close to the finishing line?
LEE WESTWOOD: You just try and keep things exactly the same. People slip up trying to do things differently. Look at that leaderboard there and tell me anybody else that's won 30 times. I think I finish tournaments off more than most people on that leaderboard, as well. I know what to do when the time comes tomorrow more than most.

Q. You like being in a position where you can be shot at, in other words?
LEE WESTWOOD: I wouldn't mind putting myself up there to be shot at on the golf course. You're backing your ability.
GORDON SIMPSON: Well, Lee, 18 holes to go, good luck.

End of FastScripts

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