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COMMERCIALBANK QATAR MASTERS PRESENTED BY DOLPHIN ENERGYJanuary 30, 2010Lee WestwoodDOHA, QATAR SCOTT CROCKETT: Thank you for coming in and joining us, as always. Give us your thoughts on an up-and-down day with double-bogeys and drivers breaking and things. Just give us your overall thoughts on the day as a whole. LEE WESTWOOD: I actually felt pretty good today. I was delighted with the way I played for the first -- no, I was delighted with the way I hit it all day. Should have made birdie at the first, missed 3 1/2 feet, a good putt and a good chance on the next hole. Eventually made birdie on 7, so thought I'd get going, stayed patient and doubled 8. Hit a poor shot there. Just mentally didn't get myself right before I played the shot and bounced back with birdies on 10,11, 12. And then I think on the 10th tee, may have -- I may have smashed the face of the driver, although I'm not sure, and for sure, I flushed that one down there, and it only carried about 270. It was downwind. It should really carry identity on the fairway and I looked at it and it had a crack there on the face. It was raised so that one is gone. And another driver got out and that one didn't feel very good and I felt very wispy in the grip. So I've got another driver with me, so I'll go and hit balls on the range and try to get used to it for tomorrow. SCOTT CROCKETT: It does affect your rhythm when something likes that happens, when things are going well. LEE WESTWOOD: Sure. I haven't hit that driver for five months, four months, and you know, it takes a bit of getting used to new clubs. I didn't really -- although I made birdie, I thought I'm going to have to hit it down 14 and to find out what it feels like. Just didn't get used to it. It went right on 14, left down 15. Hit it good on 16 but it climbed and still didn't carry on the green and then 18, just a case of just muddling around on the range. SCOTT CROCKETT: You're still very much in the tournament. LEE WESTWOOD: I'm obviously only one behind, so it's a good position to be in and tomorrow try and come out and have a fresh start and get on a roll. Just unfortunate because I really like that driver. Q. How far should it have carried on 14? LEE WESTWOOD: Downwind I would have expected to carry that 295, 300 I guess. Q. Was it a case of frustration that saw you kick the grass on the 18th? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, frustration, really. It's not the sort of situation you want thrown at you coming down the closing few holes where if you make a couple of birdies, you could have a two-shot lead, three-shot lead. But you can't do that on this golf course from the rough. So that was frustration more than anything. I missed the second cut by a foot and could only advance it 90 yards or something like that. So that's a birdie chance gone. Q. When was the last time you used the new driver? LEE WESTWOOD: I can't remember. It's about -- no, I've not used that before. So I'll be a virgin tomorrow. Q. Are you surprised to be this high up the leaderboard after last week? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, but it's a golf course that suits me down to the ground really. You get rough like this, you would say it's a good driver's golf course, if you have a driver that you like. So I would expect it to suit me, this place. It's firm greens, you can get close to the flags, good clubs for people who are mentally strong, thinking man's golf courses. So there will be certain places that suit me. Q. Is this the form you should be showing? LEE WESTWOOD: It's not what I should be doing, I just see no reason why I shouldn't pick up from last year once I get into a groove again. Q. (Regarding Scott McCarron's comments about Mickelson using old PING Eye 2). LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I wouldn't use them. Very strong word to use, cheating. I think what I said the other day was, it's not breaking the rules, but it's bending them. Wouldn't be my choice to use it. But it's obviously not against the rules or else he wouldn't do it. I think it's more of an issue with the R&A. For me, it wasn't a rule that needed changing. I can't see any reason why we can't bring in a local rule to say that the PING Eye 2s are not legal. Q. Mickelson said it's within the letter of the law and it's not up to him to maintain the spirit of the law. But surely it is up to the top players to maintain the spirit of the law? LEE WESTWOOD: If I -- I could do it, more than anybody, because I've got thousands of PING wedges, pre-1991. I have every opportunity to do it, and I don't do it. So I'll leave it at that. Q. How long have you been with PING? LEE WESTWOOD: 22, 23 years. Q. Can you talk of the influence Chubby Chandler has had on your career? LEE WESTWOOD: I've been with Chubby for 17 years, when we first came together, it was his goal to do everything else outside golf on the golf course and just let me concentrate on playing golf, and that's what he's done. Yeah, we are more friends now than manager and player. Yeah, I would say he has more of a personal approach with most of his players than the other management groups. I'm not sure about IMG, I couldn't tell you. Q. Is the local rule you mentioned for the Ping Eye clubs something that could be discussed at tournament committee level? LEE WESTWOOD: I don't know. It's not for me to decide what the rules are. I would have thought that all of this would have been covered before -- this rule has been around since August 2008 I think. So there shouldn't be any surprises, really. People shouldn't be getting a jump on the governing body, should they. All of these things ought really to have been covered. Q. Maybe they were hoping nobody would notice? LEE WESTWOOD: Nobody would notice? (Chuckles). It's just that Phil is more high-profile. End of FastScripts |
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