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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

May 8, 2010

Lee Westwood

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: At this time we'd like to welcome the 54-hole leader here at THE PLAYERS Championship, Lee Westwood. 14-under through three rounds, one-shot lead. Today posted a 70. Maybe some opening comments. Three very good days for you.
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, yeah, played well again today. You know, the golf course changed a lot overnight from yesterday. Got a lot firmer. I don't know whether it was as firm as we played it this afternoon or this morning, but 70 felt like a good score this afternoon. It could have been lower had I made a couple of putts on that front nine. I was out in 1-under, could have been out in 3- or 4-under quite easily.
Played a pretty solid round on the back nine. Made a nice birdie at 16, and then two nice putts to finish. So pleased with the way the day went.

Q. The second shot on 18 when you got to the ball, what was it like, your first thought?
LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I was in the drain.

Q. Yeah.
LEE WESTWOOD: I looked up, and I was down there yesterday but a bit shorter and had to hack it over the trees and pitch on to make bogey. Went a bit further today and saw a gap. You know, had to go under kind of one limb and then over the next lot of trees. But it just looked perfect for the trajectory. I hit my 6-iron on it, and Billy told me the yardage 196 into the breeze, it was just about perfect.

Q. You weren't worried at all about getting it high enough?
LEE WESTWOOD: No, no, no problem there, no.

Q. Could you see the green at all?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, yeah, I could see the flag. Saw it start on a good line, and saw it starting to fade. Just drift on the wind a little bit, so just thought it was the right line. When I saw it land, I thought it might have pitched a little far up, but it still stopped pretty quick.

Q. You're very accomplished, you have a lot of wins. But in the States here you go back whatever it is, 12 years. How important is it for you to win over here? We saw Monty as accomplished as he was not win here. Do you feel a little pressure knocking on the door?
LEE WESTWOOD: No, I don't feel any pressure. The only pressure is what you put on yourself, and I don't really put any pressure on myself to win here again. The only thing I try to do is perform as well as I know I can perform and peak at the right times for the big events. So far this year I've managed to do it two times in a row, so I'm not saying it wouldn't be nice to win again over here, but it's not something I put pressure on myself to do.

Q. When you arrived at the course today and saw what people had done early, what went through your mind?
LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I wasn't particularly bothered. It's not something that worries me. You know, the only game I can think about is my own game. That is the only one I can control, not somebody else's.
This golf course plays easier in the mornings. The wind is not up, the greens are a bit softer. The greens are probably a bit slower as well. They got really glassy this afternoon as they dried out. So what people do in the morning is really of no consequence to my day.

Q. You were the 54-hole leader at the Masters too.
LEE WESTWOOD: It's great, isn't it (laughing).

Q. I was wondering, the savvy veteran that you are, whether -- does that make a difference to you? Are you comfortable being the marked man? Is it more sleepless nights, less sleepless nights, no difference at all?
LEE WESTWOOD: No, I'm just really pleased with myself that I keep knocking on the door and getting in position. When you analyze it like you like to over here a bit more than we do in Europe and Britain, you know, some of the golf I'm playing in some of the big tournaments is great stuff. And that's the reason why I've been practicing so hard, and it's nice to see it paying off.

Q. For all the times you've been in contention in spots like this, how much does the pressure of weekend contention differ just because of the quirkiness of this course? The extreme penalty and rewards with some of the balls?
LEE WESTWOOD: It's not really something I've paid that much attention to. I think when you're playing well you don't really see the penalties. You probably shouldn't. You should just see the middle of the fairway and the flag.

Q. There's a lot of birdies, eagles all along the back nine, maybe more so than other courses. But there's a lot of movement as we pass on the day with Heath going up, Heath coming back, Robert making a fast finish. That's what I was getting at.
LEE WESTWOOD: You saw it, but I didn't. I wasn't paying much attention to it. I was just trying to concentrate on my day. It was tough out there. There was no real scope for thinking about anything else other than what I was doing. So you know, it's that kind of golf course. If you play well, there are birdies available. If you don't hit good shots, they penalize you. That's what all good golf courses do to you. That's the same as Augusta, Quail Hollow last week. That's what good, well-designed golf courses do.

Q. One of the key things for you in trying for big weeks?
LEE WESTWOOD: That would be telling, wouldn't it? Nice try (smiling). No, I just know what works for me, so I try and do it all leading up to the tournament.

Q. How long has it taken to learn that?
LEE WESTWOOD: About 16 years (laughing).

Q. Obviously in this position a month ago. Just wondering if you had a chance to sort of look back on the Masters or reflect on it? Anything you might have learned or taken away from it?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I spent a couple weeks afterwards reflecting on it, how close I'd come. It was nice to get back in the saddle so quickly and have another chance to win a big tournament. I've got thoughts of the Masters fresh in my mind. I played pretty well the last day there, and if I had just done a couple of things slightly different at the right times, maybe the result would have been different.

Q. Was there anything that you learned or took away from it?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I learned plenty of things about what to do at the right times and where my game needs to improve and learned a lot of stuff about myself. That's what experiences like that are all about.

Q. That second shot on the 18th was rather overlooked or the second shot on the 9th?
LEE WESTWOOD: I didn't think that was that great of a shot at the time.

Q. You didn't?
LEE WESTWOOD: Just seemed like a 5-wood. It was a nice lie in the rough. You know, the ball sits up in the Bermuda here when it's cut short. It was a nice yardage, 255, a bit into the wind enough to the left. I thought if I popped it down the left-hand side and it faded back, it would have been pretty good. Must have gone close to the flag.

Q. So really not a moment's thought of bringing it around the trees?
LEE WESTWOOD: Well, that kind of shot would not suit my game. I'm not really a sling-hooker of the ball. The 5-wood, sometimes it springs into your mind.

Q. Yeah, so the moment you saw it, there was only one shot to play? The moment you got to the ball there was only one shot to play?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, never had any other thoughts. I've always been quite aggressive on the golf course. You need to be, yeah.

Q. It was a while ago and you had the 5th and the 6th here. Do you recall -- this is 11, 12 years ago I think it was. Did you have a sniff at it then? Were you close-close or were you --
LEE WESTWOOD: No, not really, I don't think. I can't really remember, but I don't think I had a real good chance. I remember Lenny Mattiace was playing right behind me and he had a really good chance.

Q. Right, right.
LEE WESTWOOD: And I can't really remember when David did.

Q. The weekend at Augusta, you didn't beat yourself at all; Phil just kind of came and did what he did. And here you haven't -- you're not here because other people make mistakes. Are you pleased with where you are and the decisions you're making? It appears that mentally you're just not going to do anything to beat yourself and you feel like that's the way you're going to play tomorrow?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I think you learn over certainly -- I think a lot of the time, when I won back 10, 11 years ago so many tournaments, other players beat themselves. I would just hang around on leaderboards and wait for it to happen, and other people would be their own worst enemy and make mistakes at the wrong times. That's what I try to do again now.

Q. Just curious, would you rather play from in front or behind in terms of your mentality? Does it matter to you at all?
LEE WESTWOOD: I'd rather be in front obviously. If you want to win the golf tournament, you've got to be in front at some stage. You might as well be in front all the way through, especially if the golf course is going to get harder, which it did do today. I think when golf courses are hard and par and birdies are hard to come by and par means a lot, you want to be hanging around the lead. You don't really want to be chasing because that's when mistakes start to happen when you get too aggressive.

Q. Why did this event go back on the schedule this season?
LEE WESTWOOD: Because it's a big event that I have a lot of respect for.

Q. Last year?
LEE WESTWOOD: Didn't fit with my schedule. I played a lot early on, and I had committed to playing Korea, and it was too much traveling.

Q. How well do you know Robert Allenby and what is your opinion of his game?
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I know Robert pretty well. We've played together quite a bit in Europe, you know, when he was playing over there. He's got a good game. He's got a great game.

Q. What's Robert do the best in your opinion?
LEE WESTWOOD: Solid player. I don't think he does much badly or poorly, and that's a strength to most people's games out here, not what they do best. The fact that they don't hit many bad shots, there are not many weaknesses.

Q. Have you been more equipped to succeed in the big stuff over the last two years mainly because of short game?
LEE WESTWOOD: I think short game certainly helps. You know, you come to realize that the major championships and the bigger tournaments, they set the golf courses up harder. It's more difficult to hit as many greens in regulation and give yourself as many birdie putts. You're going to miss a few greens now and again, and you need a wicked short game. I'm sure that's why Tiger and Phil and Ernie have been so successful, and Padraig. You look at people like that, they've got to be some of the best scramblers in the world.
Once it sinks in -- once it sunk in, I started to work on those things. I think it's starting to pay dividends if you look at my results over the last few major championships and bigger events and World Golf Championships. They're pretty solid. They hold up next to most people's.
JOEL SCHUCHMANN: If we can go through your birdies and bogies and we'll take a final question or two. You had four birdies and two bogies. The first birdie on No. 2.
LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, a drive and a 3-iron to 30 feet, two-putt.
Missed the green left on the next, which was not clever, and got bad lie. Pitched to four feet, missed that.
And hit 3-wood, sand iron to 4, to about two feet.
Missed a good chance on 5 from about three feet. Hit a 9-iron from I think it was about 178.
Had a good chance on 7.
Just got between clubs on 8. Ended up trying to hit a hard 6-iron, caught it a little bit fat. Probably should have hit a smooth 5 and that didn't get up-and-down.
Two good shots on 9, just beyond the hole, chipped it to 10 inches.
Then 16, got a little bit lucky with the drive. Pulled it a little bit, but it went through the tree, and ended up hitting 8-iron in there, too. Left it 30 feet off the green and two-putted.
JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Lee Westwood, thank you very much. Good luck tomorrow.

End of FastScripts

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