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THE HONDA CLASSICFebruary 28, 2014Lee WestwoodPALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA JOHN BUSH: We welcome Lee Westwood, coming into this week with three Top‑10 finishes at this event in his last four starts here. Lee, continuing a comfortable trend here at The Honda Classic. LEE WESTWOOD: Yeah, I mean, I really enjoy playing this golf course. It's a demanding test. There's a lot of holes out there where there are no bail‑out. You've got to stand up there and hit your shot. It's a major‑style golf course in certain ways. Normally the wind blows a lot stronger than this and it makes it even tougher but hopefully over the weekend it will bring up a little bit and show its teeth, because it's one of the best tests on TOUR I would stay statistically; maybe outside the major championships, it's the toughest test. JOHN BUSH: Take us through your round. LEE WESTWOOD: The start at 10, hit it in the right‑hand trap for two and played a good bunker shot to about two feet. And I don't know what happened but I hit something or I pulled it but I missed that one and then played solidly. I parred the next, driver and a wedge to about 15 feet on 12. Made birdie there. Driver, 5‑iron on 14. Nearly went in the hole, finished about four feet behind the hole. 3‑wood, 7‑iron to about 12 feet on 16. Driver, 3‑wood in the front bunker on 18, nearly holed the bunker shot. Finished dead. Driver rescue right of the green on 3. Played a great chip dead again. Driver, sand iron to about 15 feet on 4. Rolled that one in. Then parred the rest. Q. Why do you want it to blow? LEE WESTWOOD: I don't want it to blow. That's just generally what it does around here. I've never seen it this calm. I live here and it's normally windy. And the wind normally keeps it cooler. But you know, whatever the conditions are, they are. It's just not stereotypical this week of how it normally is down here. Q. Rory has talked the last couple of days about how settled he is here in Palm Beach, and you've been here even longer than he has. So is that part of playing well here as well? I know you've always played well here. LEE WESTWOOD: May have something to do with it, sort of sleeping in your own bed. I've to go and pick the kids up from school this afternoon; I dropped them off yesterday morning. So I've got a lot of supporters here obviously. You get used to playing in the conditions. Although I haven't played this golf course since last year's tournament, apart from an Els for Autism Day I played here, which was like the Monday after. I think Rory and myself have fairly similar games, both good ball‑strikers. And this golf course really sets up for good ball‑strikers I think because you've got good distance control and I think you tend to, you'd be able to play this golf course well. Q. How is your ball‑striking now? Do you feel like you're back on track? By your standards you've ‑‑ LEE WESTWOOD: I haven't been trying the ball well. I haven't done for probably over a year and a half, but it definitely feels like it's coming back; with the movements I'm working on, definitely getting more penetrating flight on it and my distance control like I said has come back. I feel confident being able to hit at one side of the green and shape it in. I'm starting to get that fade back that I always used to hit. Q. Looks like you might be paired with Rory tomorrow, I don't know how much you've kind of watched him these last few months‑‑ oh, Henley has finished at 8‑under‑‑ LEE WESTWOOD: Carry on. Q. How much have you watched him the last couple of months? LEE WESTWOOD: I haven't really. I've been concentrating on my own game. I honestly don't watch that much golf on TV. More likely to walk and see me watching football or NFL or basketball or horse racing (laughter). Q. Can you talk about, Rory had his struggles last year, I'm not sure if I want to say you had your struggles but certainly you weren't playing the way you wanted to. Today or this week so far, how you're hitting the ball, how you're playing, where would you put this against a past time where you felt like you've had control over the ball like you've had this week? LEE WESTWOOD: It's not there yet but I would say it's coming back though. I'm definitely working down the right lines on the right thing. I can stand up on certain holes out there and say, like the sixth tee today I sort of aid down the left and just swung as hard as I can and turned left as hard as I could and knew it wasn't going to go left. I knew I was just going to hit a hard fade. That's when I know I'm starting to play well. Q. In January could you do that? LEE WESTWOOD: No. It's only the last few weeks I've been able to do that really. Q. Is that free swinging? LEE WESTWOOD: It's just me getting it in better positions again and gradually building up the confident with it. I started in L.A. and I started to hit it better and then the Match Play is just one of them week, didn't really have a chance to see what it was like. I played great and shot 6‑under and going home but you can't let that get you down and then this week I just tried to carry on, where I left off in L.A. really. Q. Correct me if I'm wrong but two or three years ago, you were like second I think going into the final round; was that‑‑ LEE WESTWOOD: Last year I think I was second going into in‑‑ maybe I was in the second to last group last year I think. Q. Was that an opportunity, or have you had an opportunity you felt to win that you let slip away? LEE WESTWOOD: No, not really. I finished ninth about you are to years ago. I don't know how I played three years ago because I try and forget when I don't play well. And then I finished fourth two years ago and then last year, I was‑‑ I think I needed birdie to finish third and made double and finished ninth. I've been there or thereabouts. It's obviously a golf course that I enjoy playing and it suits me. JOHN BUSH: Lee Westwood, thank you, sir. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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