Lee Westwood injured in first day of Alfred Dunhill Links championship
World number two Lee Westwood has suffered a recurrence of a calf injury on the first day of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. However, he will continue to play in the event.
Westwood shot a 70 at Kingsbarns to put himself four shots off the lead in the tournament, which takes place across three courses in Scotland. Martin Laird (Kingsbarns) and Ryder Cup vice-captain Thomas Bjorn (St Andrews) are among the leaders, having carded
a four-under-par 66.
Should Westwood finish in the top two places at the event, he will displace Tiger Woods as the planet’s number-one-ranked golfer.
He told reporters that: “I felt a twinge and I panicked a bit. I've had treatment and I'm going to play on. Playing two weeks in a row was probably too much in hindsight. I felt it coming off the seventh tee. It was a really steep downslope and it's really
aching now like I'm doing too much too soon. I should have gone back to rehab.
"My main priority has to be to get myself and my golf in the best possible shape for the Masters next year. I made a mistake two months ago playing in the Bridgestone Invitational when it was not right. I should have rested after The Open at St Andrews.”
First competitive appearance since August
Last weekend’s Ryder Cup, where Westwood helped the team to a 14½-13½ victory when he scored two-and-a-half out of four points, was the 37-year-old’s first appearance in a competitive tournament since August.
Scotsmen Laird and Bjorn are joined at the top of the leaderboard by Argentinian Ricardo Gonzalez (St Andrews) and Dutchman Maarten Lafeber (Carnoustie). Six players are a shot behind the leaders, with 14 sitting at four-under-par. Meanwhile, Europe Ryder
Cup captain Colin Montgomerie shot a par 72.
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