Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy to miss The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass
World number one, Lee Westwood has decide to take a break from his hectic schedule and will not be participating in golf’s most lucrative tournament, The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass this week.
Westwood is coming out a successful month with his back to back wins at the Indonesian Maters and the Ballantines Championship in Korea where he not only picked up inflated winners cheques but also regained his world number one rank. He further strengthened
his top rank at the Ballantines Championship, keeping Martin Kaymer at an arm’s length.
Players Championship is one of the coveted events in PGA Tour calendar and is often called as the fifth major with a purse of $9.5million. Westwood finished fourth last year and is often taunted for not having won a single major while being on top for several
months. Westwood’s primary goal for the moment is none other than to break the spell of not wining a major and will be thinking out of the box to achieve that goal.
“I have to arrange my year around being in the best possible shape for the majors, and the best schedule for me unfortunately meant missing The Players Championship,” said Westwood. “Don't get me wrong - I wish it had worked out so that I could have been
at the Players. I feel I would have had a chance of doing well there, but the way I'm playing suggests I'm getting my schedule right for me.”
Westwood admitted that the very reason he dropped down to world number two in the rankings was the mere fact that although he was putting the ball well but always ended up somewhere in the Top 20’s. Westwood’s absence will come as the much needed blessing
for the American Phil Mickelson and the Englishman Luke Donald, who will be pitched in for the top slot. But Westwood’s absence is not the only good news for the veteran champions.
Along with Westwood, Rory McIlroy has also decided to take a break this week and will not be participating at the Players. McIlroy made a daring charge in the opening rounds of the Masters last month, but gave into the immense pressure of the final rounds,
finishing with an over-Par score. His performance in the first two rounds has been applauded across the board and many termed him as Northern Ireland’s next best thing in golf. McIlroy failed to defend his title at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow,
thus deciding to take a back seat for a while.
Mickelson and Donald had different viewpoints regarding the top duo taking time off.
“Everybody has got their own personal deal, but I disagree with their thought process,” said the four-time major winner, Mickelson.
Mickelson is also of strong opinion that their absence would hardly impact the tournament. Donald, on the other hand, holds the view that any tournament without the presence of world number one definitely weakens the field.
Westwood will be heading straight into the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain next week and the US Open afterwards which is be played this year at the Congressional in Maryland.
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