Westy continues fine Ryder record

Lee Westwood gave the crowd a wave of acknowledgment and they responded in inevitable fashion.
Lee Westwood gave the crowd a wave of acknowledgment and they responded in inevitable fashion.
“One Lee Westwood. There’s only one Lee Westwood,” they chanted, and you had to reflect that was a pity after another Ryder Cup day brimming with sublime and historic action.
The matches, including the first foursomes to feature all the players in the event’s 83 years, may have see-sawed back and forth. The red of the United States might have sliced into the blue of Europe but there is one thing you can say with utter certainty these days at the Ryder Cup. You can rely on Westwood.
He was the first to get the scoreboard ticking when he and Germany’s Martin Kaymer completed the first unfinished fourball of the morning with a 3&2 victory over Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.
Then he went out, again with Kaymer, on an afternoon which echoed to random detonations of ‘Italia, Italia’ around the Usk Valley as the Molinari brothers, Edoardo and Francesco, entered the fray and brought home another half point with an all-square encounter against Jim Furyk and 21-year-old Rickie Fowler.
That is what Westwood does at Ryder Cups. He gathers points quietly and consistently, his foursomes result taking him to 18 points at seven Ryder Cups – which by some distance makes him the most experienced and prolific performer at Celtic Manor.
Even for Westwood this year is a bit special on account of the fact that on Thursday morning when he hit his first drive it was his first competitive golf shot since August 6, having been sidelined with a nagging calf injury.
Two months of inaction. If you need to know what that can do to a professional sportsman just remember what happened to Wayne Rooney when he was out for a month shortly before the World Cup.
He was a shadow of his former self. The rust clung to him like it does to a leaky old bucket. His ‘A’ game has still not returned, even if admittedly there have also been off-the-field distractions.
By contrast, Westwood has looked as if he has never been away. He is playing with the serenity of a man who will claim the number one spot in the world if he finishes at the top of the leaderboard in the Dunhill Links championship in Scotland next week, leapfrogging Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
“It’s good to be here. It makes the hard work and the rehab worth it,” said Westwood before modestly trying to share out the glory.
“But like other Ryder Cups I picked a good partner. The atmosphere seems to get better – every green, every tee and down the fairways they are screaming your name. It’s unbelievable.”
It helps when he dispatches his drive straight down the fairway at the first, helps his partner out of the rough at the second and slots an eight-foot putt at the third.
It helps, too, when you have a partner such as Kaymer, the solid young gun of European golf whose win at the USPGA heralded a potentially trophy-laden future.
Mention, too, should be made here of Westwood’s opponents, especially Furyk who demonstrated why golf is renowned as arguably the most honest sport of them all.
Furyk’s drive at the fourth dumped his partner into a muddied spectator walkway not dissimilar from the hippo enclosure at Whipsnade zoo. Relief was allowed. Unfortunately, Fowler dropped a ball from his pocket, instead of the original one, and took his shot off a roadway a club length away.
A spectator pointed out the infringement and Furyk immediately forfeited the hole, at the same time putting his arm around the spectator who insisted he had tried to inform a marshall before the shot was taken.
“It’s not your fault,” Furyk told the fan. “Don’t worry about it.”
It took the Europeans to two up but Furyk is the toughest of competitors as well as one of sport’s gentlemen and it was no surprise that Westwood and Kaymer’s lead was pegged back by American birdies at the sixth and the 11th and a quite spectacular chip from Furyk at the 18th which gave Fowler the chance to make up for his earlier aberration.
He duly holed the four-foot putt to halve a wonderful foursomes encounter with the last shot of the match.
Honours even, you might say, but only because Europe had Westwood.
Latest
-
News
On this day in 2008: Ryder Cup misery in Louisville for Nick Faldo’s Europe
Faldo was heavily criticised for his tactics in the closing singles.
-
Lucas Glover edges past Patrick Cantlay to claim back-to-back Tour wins
Glover, 43, ultimately claimed victory with a par on the 18th hole playoff after Cantlay found water off the tee.
-
Lilia Vu wins second major as Charley Hull comes up short despite stunning eagle
American Vu added the Women’s Open title to her Chevron Championship.
-
Lucas Glover holds onto lead in Memphis with Tommy Fleetwood two strokes behind
Glover said it was a scrappy day but he got ‘a lot out of’ what he had.
-
Charley Hull shares lead with Lilia Vu heading into final day of Women’s Open
The pair are nine under for the tournament.
-
On This Day in 2007 – Tiger Woods claims 13th major with victory in Oklahoma
The world number one successfully defended his US PGA Championship title.
-
Ally Ewing out to emulate Brian Harman with Open win
The pair share their southern roots, passion for hunting and college teams named the Bulldogs.
-
Ally Ewing storms clear during second round of AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath
At 10 under par Ewing enjoyed a five-shot lead over compatriot Andrea Lee and Japan’s Minami Katsu.
-
Jordan Spieth leads by one after first round of FedEx St Jude Championship
England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Aaron Rai are the best of the British contingent, closing out Thursday on four under par.
-
Rory McIlroy delighted with Tiger Woods’ role on PGA Tour’s policy board
Woods, 47, has not played since withdrawing from April’s Masters and concedes his playing opportunities will be extremely limited going forward.