Sport | Golf
Westwood hopes to land Major soon
Consistent World No 2 believes work on sinking the longer putts will pay dividends this year
- By Ashley Hammond, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 January 27, 2012
- Image Credit: AP
- Lee Westwood on the ninth hole during the first round of Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Abu Dhabi: World No 2 Lee Westwood believes an elusive Major success — which he has so far failed to claim in 19 years of asking — could be just around the corner, all thanks to putting coach Phil Kenyon.
Last month the 38-year-old Englishman, deemed one of the game's most consistent players, won the Thai Championship by seven shots, starting with a career lowest round of 60. It followed on from his second consecutive Nedbank Challenge win in Sun City, South Africa, a fortnight earlier, to hand "Westy" his 37th professional title.
Across all European, US and Asian Tours in 2011, he recorded three wins and 11 top-10 finishes in 31 appearances, but in the Majors, a continual sticking point in Westwood's career, he could only muster a 2008 personal best-equalling third in the US Open.
"The most pleasing thing was, about four weeks prior to that [Sun City and Bangkok], I started working with Phil Kenyon and to shoot 62 round Sun City and then 60 around Amata Spring, you need to start making a few 15-footers, which I've been missing for the last 17 years," Westwood said.
"Once they start going in and you hole a few you haven't been making, all of a sudden you turn a good round of 65 into a 60 or 62. If I can start rolling in a few 25 to 30-footers that I've not been making — that's obviously going to make a massive difference this year."
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