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FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSICJune 4, 2014Lee WestwoodMEMPHIS, TENNESSEE KELLY BARNES: Please welcome Lee Westwood to the interview room. Lee, you're a past champion here but you haven't started in a couple years. How do you feel about your chances this week? LEE WESTWOOD: Well, I mean it's a golf course I enjoy playing. I won in 2010, finished 11th in 2011, so, you know, it suits my game. I've been playing quite nicely recently. Won in Malaysia a few weeks back and 6th at The Players and 7th at the Masters and in the previous starts on the PGA TOUR. Carrying a bit of form in here and looking forward to the week. It's nice to be back in Memphis. All the people are really friendly here and it's not gotten any cooler "laughter" but it's nice to be back. Q. Graeme and Phil both said that the course sets up nicely going into Pinehurst. You see the same thing? LEE WESTWOOD: Absolutely. I think the course -- it's been obviously awhile since I've been here. It's in fantastic condition. It's even improved on the last time I was here. The greens are immaculate and, you know, fairways are good. There's not too much rough out there, just enough where you lose control of the golf ball if you go in it. I think, you know, it's going to set-up well for a good tournament. Q. Lee, what made it possible for Memphis to come back on your schedule this year? LEE WESTWOOD: I think obviously being the week before the U.S. Open, that's good for me. I like to be competitive the week before the Major Championships. I'm going to be competitive before all of them this year. That's the main reason, really, the fact obviously I like the place as well and the golf course and I've had success here as well. You know, they do such a good job as well. They say it's all about the kids and, you know, what they do for the St. Jude Hospital is also another, you know, reason why a lot of players come here, I think. We all want to do things for giving back. The charity and the hospital is linked very closely to this tournament. It's nice. Q. Lee, some people probably already told you we had a brutal winter here. LEE WESTWOOD: A brutal winter? Q. Brutal winter. Bunch of courses on the Tour have not been in great shape because of it. Did you see any brown spots, grassy places where it wasn't grown out? LEE WESTWOOD: No. There's one resodded area on the front of the 10th I noticed. Other than that I thought the course was in spectacular condition. There was no evidence of a bad winter. I think the greens staff and superintendent should be commended on the set-up and the condition of the golf course. Q. You said you really like the golf course. What is it about this course you like and about ten years ago it sort of did minor renovations where they changed the greens over to the bermuda and, you know, around the green complexes changed. What are some of the things about this golf course that stand out for you? LEE WESTWOOD: It's quite tight. You need to drive the ball straight although, you know, it does give you opportunities, you know, where it's not driver on every hole as well. But there is a massive premium on hitting the fairways here. You know, holes like 18, 12, you know, if you're not in the fairway there and 15, you can really -- you can make par difficult. So, you know, the fact I think it tests up every aspect of your game. You got to drive the ball well and hit the fairway. Iron shots have got to be -- lot of greens sort of run across you so not only got to hit the right distance and the right line and right distance as well. The greens are -- they're immaculate, really. There's no excuses for not making putts. Q. Lee, talk about you've been playing quite nicely lately. What aspect of your game have you liked the most during the stretch? LEE WESTWOOD: I've been playing well, been putting the ball well on the greens. That's the reason why I've been scoring better, I think. Still working on my swing, trying to get where I want it but short game and putting is strong. Q. Have you been able to play Pinehurst lately? LEE WESTWOOD: I haven't been, no. I haven't been there since the last time the U.S. Open was there. Q. One other question about your success. So far this year you had a 7 stroke victory in Malaysia. How strange or how satisfying was that week? LEE WESTWOOD: It was very satisfying. It wasn't that strange. What was strange when I won tournaments recently I've been winning by 1 and 2. I won by 5, 6 or 7. It's been odd, really. It was nice to get into contention there and get a lead and finish it off and play the last couple of rounds with the pressure trying to win a golf tournament. I think the more often you get into that situation the easier it becomes, certainly a habit and I hope to continue that. KELLY BARNES: Any further questions? All right. Thank you, Lee. LEE WESTWOOD: Thanks. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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