Golf365 and Sporting Life - Ryder Cup

Valhalla will be Westwood's sixth Ryder Cup appearance, and in his five previous efforts he has become one of Europe's all-time stars. The 35-year-old from Worksop is eighth on the list of European points winners in the competition with 15½, while his winning percentage of 0.62 is the second-best on the European list. With a high scoring rate, Westwood also combines a heavy workload during the competitions as he has never been rested from a session of play - and while he has won just two out of five singles matches he has excelled in foursomes and fourballs action. Combine that with good recent form and an undefeated record in the last two Ryder Cups and Westwood will certainly be one of Europe's big-hitters and one the Americans will be looking out for at Valhalla. On his Ryder Cup debut in 1997 at Valderrama he partnered Nick Faldo, before beginning his now famous partnership with Darren Clarke two years later. Sergio Garcia was his partner at the Belfry in 2002 though and along with the Spaniard they won three out of four matches. Westwood won his first singles match in 2004 at Oakland Hills after three successive defeats as he went undefeated throughout the competition - just as he did two years later when he and his old mate Clarke produced emotion-packed and ultimately successful appearances as wildcards. An improvement in his short game saw 2000 Order of Merit winner Westwood perform well on the big stage this season, finishing 11th in the Masters and coming close at the US Open when he finished third. The world number 12 also came second at the Bridgestone Invitational and his solid form combined with excellent Ryder Cup record make him a top gun in the European team. As an added bonus he also has a cheeky top 15 to his name in the 2000 USPGA at Valhalla so he's got proven form on the course.