Westwood Out
Lee Westwood is out. He’s out of the Bridgestone Invitational, the World Golf Championship event at Firestone Country Club. He’s out of the PGA Championship next weekend. He may be out of the Ryder Cup in eight weeks time too.
More pressingly, he’s probably lost his chance to become the world number one golfer, which he could have done this week with a win at Firestone. With second place finishes in The Masters and British Open in 2010, a win at the The St. Jude Classic the week before the US Open, and six top-10 finishes so far this year, Westwood is currently ranked number three in the world. With Tiger Woods falling fast, the Englishman could have taken the number one spot with a win at Firestone.
Westwood suffered a minor calf injury at the French Open the first week in July, which has caused swelling in his right ankle, and seven bogeys on a taped ankle on Friday told him it was time to shut it down. How long is anyone’s guess. “I will be out for as long as it takes to get better,” Westwood said on Friday. “I am just hoping that it will be in time for me to play in the Ryder Cup.”
When asked if he could do anything more besides taping the ankle, he replied, “Sit on my back side for six weeks, like they keep telling me. It’s the only way to improve it. There’s no strength in it. I don’t have confidence in it, and then on the way down I’m finding it hard to hold my weight on it and then push off.”
Considered to be the best current player without a major title to his name, and coming off an excellent 2009 in which he won the European Tour money title for the second time in his career, Westwood came within a couple of decent rounds of winning two majors this year. He actually played the British Open with a hobbled ankle and still managed to finished in second place, although he was well back of the winner, seven shots behind Louis Oosthuizen.
His priority now is not to aim for the world number-one spot, but to get healthy in time for the Ryder Cup, which will be held 1–3 October 2010 at the Celtic Manor Resort in the city of Newport, South Wales. He has already qualified for the European team by virtue of leading the standings in money and world ranking points.
Tags: