Lee Westwood gets off to a great start at Shell Houston Open in preparation for the Masters – Golf News
The Englishman Lee Westwood shot a four-under par 68 in the opening round of the Shell Houston Open at the Redstone Golf Club Tournament Course in Humble, Texas.
Westwood carded his first birdie on the par-four third hole. A bogey on the very next hole took him back to the level par.
However, he did not lose his confidence and continued to play good shots that earned him two more birdies on the front nine to go two-under after eight holes.
His start on the back nine was impressive, as he carded a birdie on the par-four 10th hole. Another one on the 17th was one of his best shots of the day, which took him to four-under for the day.
Westwood said that he his overall performance was satisfactory and he aims to improve the score as the tournament progresses.
Yet, he believes that he could have easily avoided the bogey shot, but missed the par putt.
He is currently aiming to give a final tune-up to his game at Houston Open, prior to the start of the Masters Tournament scheduled to start next week.
This will be his 56th appearance in any of the major events. However, he has not been able to record a single victory so far.
For the last four years, he has been playing at the Houston Open with the intention of preparing for the Masters. However, he did not visit the Augusta National before coming to the Redstone Golf Club.
“I didn't think it was that necessary,” the 38-year-old said. “It's a nice place to go and soak up the atmosphere with nobody there and get some work done, but the course isn't really reflective of how it's going to be on Thursday morning next week”.
“It changes so much in three days. I just decided not to this year and thought the extra couple of days at home would do me more good,” he added.
In 2009 and 2010, Westwood stood runner-up against Angel Cabrera and Phil Mickelson, respectively.
This time, he is confident to improve his position on the leaderboard with an improved performance at the Augusta National.
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