Westwood puzzled by Euro schedule

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  • December 21, 2010

Lee Westwood isn’t very impressed with the 2011 European Tour schedule, which only has two events on English soil.

Lee Westwood isn’t very impressed with the 2011 European Tour schedule, which only has two events taking place on English soil.

With England now boasting the world’s No. 1 player in Westwood himself, and other English golfers like Paul Casey, Luke Donald and Ian Poulter all riding high in the rankings, Westwood believes now is the time to make most of their success.

“I can’t get my head around it,” Westwood said according to the Daily Express. “English golf has never been so strong, we have 10 world-class Englishmen and we should all be getting together and playing an English Open or a European Open in England, even if the European Tour has to fund it.

“If the Tour want me to be an ambassador for an English Open then I am quite happy to do that,” he said.

Westwood believes more active initiatives are required to keep fans interested and in touch with the game.

“We have to do something with golf or else it will become staid and people will get bored with it,” he said. “Matchplay, round-robin, speed golf where you are on the clock to play your shot – anything that jazzes it up should be considered. You don’t want speed golf in the Masters, but there are points during the year where we need to think outside the box.”

With the wintery conditions in effect in his native Worksop, Westwood has had some time to think about golf’s future, though the bad weather has not stopped him from working on his game.

“This is the time of year fortunately when I am generally in the gym working on my fitness. I won’t hit balls until January,” he said. “But I have stood on the range when the rain is coming in sideways and done the same on the chipping area when I haven’t really wanted to. Why? In order to get better.

“If you are the best at something you have to put yourself in the position of the people behind you and remember what that felt like. They all want something that I’ve got. So to retain it, I’m going to have to work harder. Besides, while being world No. 1 is great, the defining thing in golf and what everyone is judged by is majors, and I still haven’t won one.”

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