Lee Westwood admits five matches may be tough test at Ryder Cup
Lee Westwood appeared relaxed and confident in a press conference ahead of the start of the Ryder Cup; perhaps he was buoyed by the knowledge that next week he will move up to No. 2 in the world rankings.
But the 37-year-old admitted that the next few days could prove strenuous. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I was capable of playing five matches. If Monty chooses to play me for five, hopefully I'll be ready for it.
“[But] I think we've got a strong enough team in depth that we can rest players. As I said earlier it is a tough golf course, so maybe the plan would be to rest players. As much as I hate to admit it I'm not as young as I used to be, there's a few more miles in the legs, maybe the best way to get the maximum out of me is to only play four, I dunno, whatever Monty sees fit. But like I said, if I didn't think I could play five I wouldn't be here."
On his return from injury, Westwood was upbeat. "I'm good, looking forward to this week, I've worked hard to get here. When you go through a rehabilitation process, some weeks it moves quickly, other times not so quickly. Only when I started hitting more balls in the last couple of weeks did I allow myself to start getting emotionally up for it [the Ryder Cup]."
How was the atmosphere amongst the European team? "Yeah it's a good atmosphere in the team room, we all get on very well, it's relaxed. There's some good banter, and when we need to get down to some serious stuff, we're there, together as a unit with one goal really."
How did Seve Ballesteros sound when he spoke to the team this week? "It was good to hear from him Tuesday night for sure. He sounded well I think, he sounded just as passionate as he always sounds when talking about the Ryder Cup.
"Obviously he's one of the legends of the game and he's instrumental in taking European golf to a world audience, and he did that partly through his own career but also through that passion he showed at the Ryder Cup.
"He obviously carried that through to Valderrama when he was captain, he was very passionate that week, sometimes it worked, sometimes it wound people up, but we came out of it that week with the right result and that was a lot to do with Seve.
"I suppose he's a European talisman when it comes to something like that and it was great to hear from him. Not that everyone needed a lift but it gave some of the younger lads that extra idea of what it's all about. I know it was over the phone but you could still almost see a twinkle in his eye."
Westwood wasn't overly worried about a lack of match fitness either. "I don't have too many concerns with my competitive edge; I've played well in the practice rounds and I don't see how that's going to change in the competitive rounds when the match itself starts, I think I'll be up for it even more.
"It is a very difficult golf course to come back to, it's very heavy underfoot, it's quite hilly in places, there's quite a lot of steep slopes to walk up to. And with 36 holes a day, I'd ideally have liked to have broken myself in gently, but that wasn't possible so it's just a case of playing it, but I know as much as you really, how I'm going to react over the next couple of days.
So what does it take to be good at the Ryder Cup? "I enjoy matchplay. I'm very passionate when it comes to the Ryder Cup, I hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, and like I've always said in the foursomes and the fourballs I've been fortunate to have great partners. Sergio [Garcia] or Darren [Clarke] are great drivers of the golf ball. It's not hard to play well when you've got partners like that. But I think the record is partly due to the intensity that I get together for the Ryder Cup."
Speaking on the injury that ruled the Englishman out since early August, potentially preventing him from reaching the world No. 1 spot, Westwood admitted: "Yeah, it's very frustrating. But at the same time nobody's stepped up to the plate, grasped the baton and run with it really so I'm quite fortunate in that regard. I expected to be further behind than I am, so I'm quite pleased with the position I'm still in."
And on being told that he would reach the No. 2 position next week regardless, the current world No. 3 replied: "I knew that." Of course he did. Not much gets past Westwood.
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