Lee Westwood: New World Number One
The five year long reign of Tiger Woods finally ended as Lee Westwood of England was crowned the number one golf player in the world. Westwood is the first European in 16 years to have achieved this honour. This is truly an amazing feat to achieve when one
hasn’t even won any major championships. Lee hasn’t won any majors and is still the best golfer in the world right now. Westwood who literally is on top is definitely in the clouds.
"Whenever you can sit down and say, 'I'm the best in the world right now,' it's a dream that everybody holds," Westwood said.
This is certainly the most fulfilling moment of Westwood’s 17 year long career. Lee has only played in one tournament since the British Open. He was injured when his torn calf muscle flared during the French Open following which he was forced to retreat
from the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. Following a nice period of rest, Westwood had a great comeback during the Ryder Cup in Wales. Westy won all his matches expect the singles match and was truly an asset to the winning European Team.
Following the Ryder Cup, Westwood opted to play for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Possibly due to a lot of strain on his calf, the injury recurred and Westwood withdrew from this tournament as well. Only playing the first round, Westwood ruled playing
in Scotland as a mistake and took another break from competitive golf.
Despite him not competing in any tournaments, Westwood was very near to becoming World Number one. Luckily, the way the rankings are calculated really favored him near the top. With Woods not competing in any tournament until the HSBC Championship, Lee was
ahead in the points race as well.
A shadows of doubt came on Lee's glory when fellow European Martin Kaymer won the Links Championship. This skyrocketed Kaymer to world number three. The Andalucía Masters was really a golden opportunity for the German to become number one but he didn’t avail
it. If Kaymer was to finish in second place or better in Spain this weekend, he could have replaced woods.
It seems as if luck was on Westy’s side, since Martin tied for the 21st place in Valderrama. Just as Kaymer was finishing his final round at the Andalucía Masters, celebrations started in Westwood’s house in England. Lee shared his special moment
with his parents and about twenty friends.
Now that he is number one, Westwood is aware that Tiger is not someone who will let go of his position easily and that he can come back. Even though the competition is fierce, Lee said that it has taken him a long time to achieve this and he won’t let go
of it that easily.
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