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MASTERS TOURNAMENTApril 5, 2012Lee WestwoodAUGUSTA, GEORGIA LARRY PUGH: It's my pleasure, Lee Westwood is with us this afternoon. Lee has 33 international victories with four in 2011, a seven‑time Ryder Cup Team member, 13 Masters appearances, and his best finish was second in 2010. And most importantly, a first round of 67 today. Lee, do you have any comments you would like to make before we open up for questions? LEE WESTWOOD: I didn't realize I was that old. (Chuckling). LARRY PUGH: Those are the facts. LEE WESTWOOD: I didn't realize it was the 13th time. Hopefully that's the lucky number for me. Yeah, I played well today, and I've been playing well all year and I just tried to continue with that. This is a golf course that I love playing. It seems to suit my game. I hit a lot of fairways. I hit pretty much every fairway and 16 greens in regulation and rolled a few nice putts in from sort of five to ten feet, which, you know, when you're hitting it close a lot is productive. Q. Is it fair to say you were being particularly fired up this week? LEE WESTWOOD: No. No more than normal. Just trying to cruise my way into the tournament today and get in a good position and then hopefully stay there. Q. Is that the best you've ever played in the first round of a major? LEE WESTWOOD: It may have been, yeah. I think I played pretty well here two years ago‑‑ did I shoot 67 then? I played pretty good there. It's nice to get off to a good start and have a platform to build from. Q. Can you just talk about, was it four birds in a row there on the front nine; that what it was? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah. Q. Kind of rolling along, any particularly good shots there? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I missed a short one on 4 for par, and then I hit an 8‑iron to four feet on 5, 8‑iron to ten feet on 6; 9‑iron to six feet on 7; and then chipped it stone dead on 8; and missed from about ten feet on 9. So I had a run of holes there where I hit it close. But if you look at my stats this year, they have this proximity‑to‑the‑hole stat and I'm fairly high up on that, and this is a second‑shot golf course. I figured if I drive the ball well, which I generally do, then I'm going to have a chance to get it close to flags and from there, it's just an issue of how many putts I hole. Q. Just given the softness of the course, what were you expecting when you showed up today? Were you surprised by the fact that no one was going terribly deep? And I wonder if you can speak to the hole locations. LEE WESTWOOD: Aahh, too many questions. I'll rattle them off. I wasn't surprisedthat people didn't ‑‑ although Henrik was 6‑under when I pretty much got started. Billy had sent me a text, because he had walked around the golf course saying that the pins were tough. He used slightly more flowery language than that, but we'll stick to tough. (Laughter). So I knew it was a day for patience where 20 feet, 25 feet under a lot of holes was going to be good. And this course gives you a chance if it's soft, but it also takes a bit away because it plays longer when it's soft. I had one mud ball out there which was a cause of a bogey on 10, and I know Jim had a couple of mud balls, as well, which is just unfortunate when we didn't have as much rain, but all of these things have to be taken into consideration. You know, it's never an easy golf course, this, either. Q. And also your club and distance on 17, if you don't mind. LEE WESTWOOD: I think 145, wedge. Wind was just starting to pick up at that stage. Just a smooth wedge, eight feet. Q. You've obviously been in really good positions in majors many times; how much is that going to help you now that you're in a good position again? And the fact that your physical condition is probably better now than it's ever been; that going to be a help, as well? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, they are both assets. I have been in this position a lot recently, in contention. I've had a lot of top threes, so I've obviously been there or thereabouts. And I've done a lot of fitness work through winter and start of this year to strengthen up. And this is a demanding golf course. There are a lot of hills out there. You're concentrating all the time. It's mentally draining and physically draining. So both, both should help me as the week goes on. Q. Were the greens a little bit slower than normal, and did that give you a little more comfort out there? LEE WESTWOOD: No. They were quite confusing. Yeah, they were a little bit slower than usual. I left about eight feet short on the first, and about six feet short on the second. But I managed to make both of those putts and gradually got used to the pace of them. Obviously with the amount of water on them the last couple of days, they are going to be a little bit slower but that's not to say there were not a few surprising ones out there that were still like lightning. Q. Does it take the fear out a little bit, though? LEE WESTWOOD: No. (Shaking head). You've always got to be on your guard on these greens here. Q. What would be the best weather for you tonight overnight? LEE WESTWOOD: It's not something that I ever think about. I'm not bothered. As a golfer, it's not like playing snooker where you're indoor and everything is controlled; or tennis where it's pretty much controlled. We have to adapt all the time to different conditions, so it really doesn't make any difference. Hopefully it's just the same for everybody and everybody has to contend with the same thing. Q. You've had a number of celebrity guests staying with you this week and they seemed to be supporting you throughout the day, including two who were with you in the Par 3. Does that help take your mind offit during the rally? LEE WESTWOOD: I have been spending most of my time with my dad and Steve MacGregor, the trainer, in my house. They're staying in other places, you know, and Dad caddied in the Par 3 and had a great time. They are keen golfers. It's like Disneyland for adults, this place. You can't wipe the smiles off their faces, as it is for the golfers, as well. They are having a good time, but it's serious stuff for me and I sort of try to keep myself away from the golf course. Q. As you acknowledged a minute ago, you've had so many chances in majors the last few years, a lot of top threes. What did you learn from that in terms of what separates being in contention and winning a tournament like this? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, you know, when you're in contention and you don't finish it off, you then go home and you assess what you did wrong and where you can improve. So that's what I did. Q. And what did you sort of learn? LEE WESTWOOD: Just the areas of the game that I felt let me down, but not necessarily major championships.  I do that after every tournament. It's the only sensible thing to do if you want to improve. You go home and strengthen your weaknesses; hopefully retain your strengths. You know, so it just seems like common sense to me, and that's always something I try and do. Q. What do you do your next round? Totally forget about golf? LEE WESTWOOD: I'm having dinner with UPS tonight, 7:00. What time is it? I don't think they will mind if I'm late. Q. Who are the celebs? I don't know the U.K. TV stars. Can you tell us dumb Americans who these guys are and why‑‑ LEE WESTWOOD: Facey will tell you. He'll fill you in. Q. No, I won't. (Laughter). LEE WESTWOOD: (Laughing). Q. You talked about being here 13 years and that you're not really excited about doing anything different. What was it like with you first came here‑‑ LEE WESTWOOD: I'm not excited? I am excited. Q. Well, now you are. When did you start adapting or adjusting to this along the way? LEE WESTWOOD: 13 years ago. 13 years ago, the place comes as a shock. You don't know what to expect and then you turn up and it's a lot hillier; everybody says that. It's a lot‑‑ I turned up when there weren't any people here; big expansive green, you were amazed at how fast the greens are. You are amazed at how conservative you have to be a lot of the time. You have to play away from flags. You learn that as you play it more. It is; experience counts for a lot around here. Q. Do you allow yourself to think about sort of legacy and how you'll be remembered? You're obviously one of the best players in the world, but if you are able to win a major, it changes how people maybe remember you ten, 15, 20 years from now. Does that matter at all to you? LEE WESTWOOD: Not really, no. I prefer people to remember me as the person I am rather than the golfer. Obviously if I sit down at the end of my career and there's no major championship wins, I'll be disappointed. If there's five, six, I'll be delighted. But you know, at the end of the day, that won't actually change that much, will it. It will be, you know, the impression I've had on people and whether I've basically gone away having done more good than bad. Q. I think the stat that brought up was like eight of the last nine rounds you've been par or under here. Is there something about the course or the event that brings out the best in you? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, like I said, I think the golf course suits my game. It was originally designed as a second‑shot golf course.  And my iron shots are one of the strengths of my game. And, basically, you know, over the years, I've just gained experience and learned how to play the golf course. I listened to Phil do an interview the other day and he said he can get around here when he's not playing that well, and that is basically because he knows where to miss it and that only comes from experience. Q. Is there one example of a place where you knew to miss it today and missed it there? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, there's a lot of places around here not to hit it, rather than where to hit it. You know, the first, I was never going to give myself enough club to get back to that flag, so 25 feet short and right was basically a good shot. And there were a few more instances. The only time I ever got close to not hitting it where I wanted to was on 5. Got lucky there. Hit it to four feet but it was four feet right of the hole and I was aiming 15 feet long and left of it. LARRY PUGH: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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