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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIPFebruary 24, 2012Lee WestwoodMARANA, ARIZONA LAURA HILL: We'd like to welcome Lee Westwood to the interview room. A nice 3and 2 victory over an in form Nick Watney. So your first trip to the fairground went pretty well today. LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, it did. Obviously I've never played on a Friday before. There were a few flags out there that took me by surprise that I hadn't seen, that look different than on TV. But I knew it was going to be a tough match against Nick; he's knocked me out the last two years. It was nice to not make that hat trick and to win and get through to tomorrow and see what happens on the weekend. Q. Tell us what the strongest part of your game was. What's been happening with your chipping and why has it been so good this week? LEE WESTWOOD: The ball runs off the greens, and you've got some tricky shots, the way you've really got to get a nice angle of attack on it, put a bit of spin on it and some bunker shots like that, as well. Last week I was at home and I did some work and that's what we were working on and getting a reliable technique. And managed to find that and played some really nice chips out there. Looked like they were going in, which is a surprise for me. Not that I have that many chips, I've been driving the ball well, long and straight, which allows me to attack some of the flags and sets up well for playing the golf course. Because if you start missing fairways around here and hitting it in the wrong spots, you could leave yourself some really long putts or tough shots. Because there are sections of the greens, it seems. So really my all over game has been pretty good. There's not really been a weakness. And there's only been one hole I've not been in front in all the matches. It's been nice. I've not really let my an opponents into the match. Q. I know you've talked about rededicating yourself this year, and you really want to get to the top of the mountain. Does this tournament mean‑‑ will it mean anything to you winning this tournament or playing well in this tournament in terms of the overall picture? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, it's a World Golf Championship and I haven't won one. So it's very important all the time you try and set yourself goals that you haven't achieved in the past. So obviously to win a World Golf Championship would be one of those. I've always enjoyed this tournament and wondered why I haven't played well at it. And actually when I have been at home and watching it on TV, I thought how good the course looks. I enjoy playing match play, and it's nice to get a win in it, see how far I can go. Q. You mentioned about Nick. Is there a bit of added incentive to not let him beat you three years in a row? LEE WESTWOOD: Not really. You know, I like Nick. He's a nice fellow, a real gent. We talked about football going around out there. We hadn't done that the last three years. But I didn't really want to make it a hat trick. And having gotten to Friday, I'd like to stay a little bit longer, if it's at all possible. It was nice to win, as it always is. Everybody likes winning rather than losing. It's just a case that I made a lot of birdies today and didn't really give Nick a chance to get in the match. Q. You were talking about a couple of things you had not achieved like winning the WGC. What about one that you have? You can climb back to No.1 in the world with a win this week? Is there another little additional carrot? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, obviously I'd like to be No.1 in the world, but it's not really a priority. It's not really a goal I've set, you know, to win a Major championship, to win these World Golf Championships, to win in the States and do that more regularly are goals. If I do that then the No.1 in the World Ranking just comes along as a product of that. But obviously, you know, I'd be lying if I didn't say every guy playing this week wants to be No.1 in the world. It means you're playing well, for starters. Q. I didn't hear exactly what you said about the pins, but I was looking at the pin sheet and it looked really edgy to me. Were they anymore difficult than they normally are? LEE WESTWOOD: I just said that I hadn't seen a lot of the flags where they were today because I'm not normally here (laughter). And normally I'm not playing, still trying to get home. But there were some really good flags out there where you have to be very accurate and you can be a couple of yards out and really get penalized. I'm all for that. If you want to see who the best player is, you reward accuracy, and have a lot of control over the golf ball. Q. So they were fair? LEE WESTWOOD: Very fair. It feels a bit softer this week, the golf course, and I think it plays a little bit better when it's softer. Q. Your football or American football? I assume it was yours? LEE WESTWOOD: My football? Yeah. It's called football, not soccer, and he knows a lot about it. He's a Spurs fan, so that may mean he doesn't know a lot about it. He didn't know Nottingham Forest well, which means he really doesn't know a lot about football or what league they're in. So we had a chat going around out there, and I filled him in on the England manager's job, and how his manager might be a favorite for it, and his team might be trying to keep hold of him. I like playing with Nick, he's a good lad and good company to play with. Q. The work you did with Pete on your chipping, was that a result of what happened in Dubai? How many hours did you have to put in to‑‑ LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I practiced for about four hours on it. I wouldn't say any part of my game is particularly weak, but if I had a weakness it would be my chipping, which I'm always working on. So that was a poor chip on the 18th in Dubai, but that wasn't really the reason I didn't win in Dubai, it was a catalog of missed putts leading up to that. But obviously the chip on 18 in Dubai was disappointing. If you want to improve, you need to adjust your weaknesses, and that's what we were doing last week. Q. (Inaudible.) LEE WESTWOOD: Just find a simpler way of playing them. Just try to simplify my technique so I am more consistent. Q. The crowd on the 15th tee has been a bit surly. LEE WESTWOOD: Oh, great, not a problem. If I were here I'd be sitting on the 15th tee, 16th green with him and having a few beers with them and patching it. Yeah, I would. The crowd has been great. The first two days they were, I would say, on my side against the other two guys. Today I was playing an American, so they're going to be a bit on the American side. They were very supportive to me; I was getting a lot of love out there. Q. Has it been a plan this week to get off to a flying start rather than feel your way into it? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I think the format dictates that you need to get off to a flight, really. You want to come out and get momentum as quickly as possible. And the only way to do that is by winning holes earlier. And probably in this kind of company making birdies and eagles. So trying to play the first couple of holes well. And I think I did that, apart from those 6 or 7 holes in the beginning of the week. Q. Is it‑‑ do you go to the first tee being pumped up? LEE WESTWOOD: I suppose you go to the first tee with a more aggressive attitude in mind, attack the pin and make the putt. Q. Basically piggy backing off of his question, what's the difference in comfort level if you're 1‑ or 2‑up early in the match, compared if you're trailing in a match? LEE WESTWOOD: You always feel more comfortable being in front, the other guy has got to be aggressive. And this is not a golf course you can be aggressive with. You have to plod your way around it. Obviously if you can get up early and be aggressive when you need to be aggressive from then on and be patient when you need to be patient, that's the ideal situation. Q. Looks as if Rory is ahead right now, and that would set up if both of you guys won tomorrow a semi‑morning match up between the two of you. Is there a danger in looking too far ahead? LEE WESTWOOD: There's a danger if you're looking too far ahead, yeah. I'm just happy to be looking for a different restaurant for Friday night, that's where my sights are set (laughter). Yeah, I don't think you can look that far ahead. I had a little chuckle watching The Golf Channel on Wednesday morning and listening to them make all their predictions and things like that. I don't think they got many right. So it's virtually impossible. All you can do‑‑ all I can do is keep playing the way I'm playing and do that against whichever opponent I've got in front of me. You can't control what your opponent does, if he comes out and shoots 62, I'm going home. Q. Where did they have you in that projection? LEE WESTWOOD: On the BA 289 on Thursday night (laughter). FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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