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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIPFebruary 19, 2013Lee WestwoodMARANA, ARIZONA MICHAEL GIBBONS: Good morning, Lee. Thanks for joining us. Welcome back to the WGC Accenture Match Play. Just thoughts and feelings on the week ahead. LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I'm looking forward to this tournament this year more than I was last year. Seeing my record here, I haven't got past the second round. I had a good one in this tournament last year, and it was nice to sort of play a bit of good golf in this tournament and not have to leave on Thursday evening or earlier. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. MICHAEL GIBBONS: And just a comment about your game and this season. LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I finished fifth in Dubai and then sort of got into contention last week. I played some decent golf this year, but without anything too much good happening to me. I've just not felt like I've been able to get any momentum on the golf course, but hitting a lot of good shots, liking what I'm seeing. I'm seeing a big improvement in my short game and pitching, and feeling a lot better on the greens, as well. You know, that's great for this format. A sharp short game in this format and making a few putts is vital. I'm looking forward to the next few weeks. I'm playing a lot. MICHAEL GIBBONS: And quick word on your opponent. LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, there are no weak players in this tournament and no easy matches. I played with Rafael a few weeks ago in Dubai in a challenge match. We were partners then playing foursomes and he was hitting a few good shots but hopefully won't do that tomorrow. Hopefully I'll hit all the good shots and win as many holes as possible and then hopefully pitch up on Thursday like I did last year, just play it one day at a time, one match at a time, and just hopefully try and keep progressing each day. Q. The weather tomorrow is supposed to be a little different. I was curious, do you think that favors anybody? And secondly, I was curious if you had any good bad weather stories from playing. LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I think it would favor people who like playing in bad weather more, but I can't think of many people out here that like doing that. It would be obvious to say somebody who hits the ball low, I guess. But the weather shouldn't be‑‑ well, this is the tournament that it's least likely to affect because the weather is not going to change in a minute between the shots that you're playing when your partner is playing. It's not like you can get a morning and afternoon split. I think the weather is just a case of getting your head around it and just getting your head down and getting on with it. And yeah, I've won tournaments in bad weather where it's been miserable and windy. I would rather play in the sun in warm conditions, but‑‑ I guess people with a bad back, you know, which there are a few out here. I played with Freddie last week, and I know when it's cold Freddie struggles. He's not playing this week, but there might be somebody else in the field who struggles when‑‑ to keep moving.  So that could be an issue. Q. Apart from winning a few matches, did you decide to do anything different last year than what you had done before? LEE WESTWOOD: Other than not really putting too much pressure on myself to try and get going in the tournament, no. Just try to play carefree golf sort of and see what happened. Q. Just an update on how you've settled in, and is it still totally the best thing you've ever done? LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, well, I've been away for‑‑ this is my fourth week away, so the moving in process is happening as we speak, so my main incentive this week is to get as far as possible to stay away from box unpacking duty. You know, other than the fact that we're playing for a World Golf Championship and fortunes, I'm trying to stay away from the task of unwrapping things, as well. So that's a lot of pressure. Q. Can you give us a sense of your game overall and what you're working on to move back up the rankings? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, my game overall is good. I'm hitting the ball well. Yesterday I was working on a new driver because I smashed the face on mine last week, put a crack in it. So that was the main thing for yesterday. But I'm seeing a big improvement in my short game and I'm rolling the ball better on the greens, making a lot more good putts. I'm just in one of those sort of periods where I am waiting for something to happen. The first three weeks of the year, I really haven't been able to sort of get any momentum going. If I have, then I've followed it up at that double bogey or something like that. I haven't had the breaks when I've needed them. It's just golf, and you just keep playing and try and do the right things well and more often, and just wait for things to happen. This could be the week that it happens. Q. Faldo said that the feels for Rory will be different because of the driver, ball and putter being different. LEE WESTWOOD: For who? Q. For Rory. LEE WESTWOOD: Sorry, I couldn't hear. Q. Did you hear the question okay? LEE WESTWOOD: No, I want you to repeat it, please. Q. Faldo says that the feels will be different for Rory because of‑‑ LEE WESTWOOD: Oh, feel, all right, okay. Q. Yeah, the feel with the driver, the ball, the putter, transition could take a while. He thought it was maybe dangerous. Do you think that's a real concern? Do you think it's overblown? What's your take on that? LEE WESTWOOD: It will, it might, and everybody will blow it out of all proportion, won't they? We all change equipment quite regularly out here, and he's done that, and he's‑‑ I've changed the ball three times this year already, and drivers a couple of times. It's no different, he's just changed manufacturers, which you get used to one manufacturer and working with their people, and then you have to work with another manufacturer and different people. Maybe they don't know your game quite as well. Q. Not that big of a deal then? LEE WESTWOOD: Might be, might not. I don't know. It's not my problem, is it? (Laughter.) I smashed my driver last week. I'm trying to find one for me. Rory's ball and driver and clubs are down here on my priority list, so it's not something I've thought about too much. Q. As you know, one of the risks with the format is you could play pretty good golf on day one and go home. On the flipside of that, I just wonder if you can recall any match which stands out for you in match play where you played pretty badly and scraped through? LEE WESTWOOD: No, I've always been really unlucky and never had an opponent that shot 76 or something like that and I've shot 75 and won 1‑up. I feel like in this tournament I've always had to play well to win a game. I think very rarely do you get given one in this, and that's the idea for tomorrow, just to try and turn up and play well, and hopefully it's good enough and hopefully the guy doesn't blitz it and hole everything and chip in and frustrate you like that. You do need a bit more luck in this event than in other ones. Q. Is life any easier for you now that you're not No.1? Do you miss not being No.1? LEE WESTWOOD: I would rather be No.1 in the world, yeah. But it didn't make life particularly difficult when I was world No.1. The only thing that changes is I would have spent more time in here and more time doing interviews outside. The press and media commitments are a lot higher, so you just have to schedule that into your day. So that's the main difference. Q. You'd rather be doing it‑‑ LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I think anybody would rather be doing it than not doing it. Nice problem to have. MICHAEL GIBBONS: Lee, thanks for your time. Good luck this week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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