Lee Westwood to play less on PGA Tour
Coming off an emotional performance at the 2010 Ryder Cup in Wales, where his European team won back the cup in dramatic fashion, Lee Westwood has decided to shift his priorities. He will
devote less of his time to the PGA Tour, the most lucrative golf tour in the world.
"I'm not taking my card up in the States," said Westwood, the number-two ranked player in the world, as he prepared for Thursday's start to the Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
The Englishman cited family reasons for his decision to focus his time and energy on the European Tour. The 37-year-old lives with his wife and two young children in Nottinghamshire, England.
"I don't want to get into a situation where I have to play events in America just to make up the 15 needed for tour membership," he said. "The FedEx Cup sits right in the middle of the
kids' summer holidays and I like going on holiday with them for a couple of weeks."
Westwood is potentially giving up a lot of prize money with his decision. The winner of the FedEx Cup, the season-long PGA Tour award culminating in a four-event play-off event in September,
awards $10 million to the winner. Westwood’s decision takes him out of contention.
American fans will only see Westwood in the U.S. when he plays the three majors contested on U.S. soil, the World Golf Championships, as well as the occasional event.
This week, Westwood has a chance to become number-one in the world, ending Tiger Woods’ 278-week reign at the top, with a win or a second-place finish in Scotland. He would become only
the third player ever to claim the top spot having never won a major championship. The Ryder Cup seems to have inspired Westwood to focus more on his personal life and his family.
"As of Monday evening in Wales I became an individual again, and I do what's right for Lee Westwood now," he said.
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