Lee Westwood ready to join PGA Tour in 2012
World number three Lee Westwood of England has now announced that he will be signing up for the PGA Tour next year for a full schedule year, a move which will enable him to play in some of the high profile events on the Tour. Westwood was speaking in a press
conference on Wednesday.
“I missed THE PLAYERS Championship last year when watching it on television,” said Westwood, also a member of the European Tour. “Though the rules changed making it exempt from PGA TOUR restrictions, I had already set my schedule for later in the year in
Asia. I didn’t want to break any of those commitments.”
Westwood and the US Open winner Rory McIlroy came under scathing criticism for missing the Players Championship this year, and were accused of giving preference to the BMW PGA Championship instead of the Players Championship, as both events having been unofficially
touted as the fifth major on the schedule.
Westwood, who once reigned the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) for a consecutive 17 months, after he dethroned Tiger Woods, has now dropped to number three trailing Luke Donald and McIlroy. He has been on a vacation and has taken a break from mainstream
golf, something which caused him to slide down the rankings.
PGA TOUR Executive Vice President and Chief of Operations Andy Pazder also welcomed the move and said that PGA Tour is delighted to have him back. Westwood remained a member of the PGA in 2008 but had to confine himself to the European Tour because of the
scheduling problems.
“He’s obviously proven himself to be one of the very best and most consistent players in the world, and the fans of the PGA TOUR will enjoy having more opportunities to watch him compete.” Pazder said.
The move will allow Westwood to participate in events such as the Players Championship and the lucrative FedExCup Playoff Championship which is only restricted to the PGA permanent players. Westwood has three top-10 finishes this season at the PGA and posted
a thrilling joint third at the US Open. He won his first event on the PGA in 2010, the St. Jude Classic. Westwood has not won a major event in the course of his career.
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