Lee Westwood explains Open advantage as he eyes historic triumph at Portrush
Lee Westwood believes links courses give the oldies like him a real chance of Major success.
The English veteran, 52, shot a 69 to give him a platform to mount a shock challenge this weekend at Royal Portrush. The 500/1 outsider is just two off the lead after a strong start was only slightly dampened by two bogeys on the back nine.
Westwood is competing in his 90th Major and 28th Open but he has still yet to win one despite nine top-three finishes. Yet after this fine start, with wife Helen Storey on the bag, he is starting to believe he could join Phil Mickelson as a Major winner in his 50s and go one step further than Tom Watson, who at 58 came close to glory in 2009.
He said: 'Links golf more than any golf gives you a chance when you're our age, shall I say? There's a bit more run on the ball. It's not a golf course where it's laid out where there's a massive advantage to carrying a trap at, say, 310 yards, which I don't have anymore.
'You've got to use the conditions and hold the ball up well in the side winds and cross-winds and be able to bring your ball flight down when you're going into the wind.'
Westwood was asked if seeing his name up high on the leaderboard gets the juices flowing and said: 'Oh, yeah. Can't beat seeing your name up there on a Thursday. We'll talk again if it's up there on Sunday. It's nice to see it on the big yellow scoreboards, and it's nice to walk down the 18th here. I've always said that for a British player, it's the greatest walk in golf, especially if you're in with a chance on Sunday.'
Westwood's wife caddies for him when she's available and this could be a big week for the married pair if he can stay in contention at the course where he finished fourth in 2019.
He said: 'She caddied for me in the qualifying, and I prefer to have her caddieing for me whenever she can. We have a good record round here from finishing fourth six years ago. Yeah, it was an easy decision for me to make. Probably harder for her. She'd probably rather be at home riding a horse.'
It wasn't such a good day for two-time winner and another veteran Padraig Harrington. The Irishman hit the first tee shot of the tournament but shot four over which will leave today as a battle to make the cut.
'I expected the nerves, I didn't expect that [emotion],' Harrington said. 'So I did have to adjust myself for that.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Argus
40 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
England overcome weather delays and disruption to clinch USA triumph
In a match that kicked off an hour later than scheduled owing to lightning strikes in the American capital, Curtis Langdon, Luke Northmore, Cadan Murley, Jack van Poortvliet, Harry Randall and debutant Gabriel Oghre all scored to make it three transatlantic wins from three following their impressive 2-0 victory in Argentina. The clash was also delayed by a subsequent half an hour when the players were marched off after a second strike but Steve Borthwick's side, who did concede late on when Shilo Klein crashed over for the hosts, kept their composure to stroll to a comfortable triumph. The result stretches England's current winning run to seven matches, their longest since back in 2020 ahead of upcoming autumn internationals against the likes of Australia and New Zealand at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. The Saturday night encounter was the second of an Audi Field double header after USA had battled past Fiji 31-24 in front of a US women's record 15,198 fans earlier in the afternoon. That initially gave both sides just under an hour to gear up for the men's encounter as centre Max Ojomoh, full-back Joe Carpenter and second row Arthur Clark all prepared for their England debuts. Exeter Chiefs flyer Immanuel Feyi-Waboso was also making his hotly-anticipated return after missing the Argentinian leg of the tour while serving a two-match ban for a high tackle in a pre-tour warm-up match against a France XV. But a weather alert just 15 minutes before kick-off meant the match was delayed by an hour as the players were evacuated after a lightning strike. With proceedings eventually getting underway at 6:05pm local time, both sets of players emerged to another packed-out crowd as the flashes in the sky were replaced by a pyrotechnics display to greet their arrival from the tunnel. The encounter started scrappily but England could have grabbed an early breakthrough when debutant Clark was set free only for a penalty to be awarded for a forward pass from Van Poortvliet, matchwinner in the second Test against Argentina last weekend, in the build-up. The Eagles were dealt a blow shortly after when fly-half Chris Hilsenbeck received a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on – and England took full advantage when Langdon bundled over after a rolling maul just two minutes later. And they doubled their lead moments after when Ojomoh deftly put centre partner Northmore in to cross under the posts. George Ford, fresh off the back of his 100th cap in South America and a celebratory visit to the British Embassy in DC earlier this week, converted once again to fire England into a 14-0 lead. England thought they had a third when Alex Dombrandt crossed following an efficient-looking line-out routine but the try was disallowed for obstruction from the Harlequins No.8. And just seconds after that, both sets of players were marched off the pitch once again following more lightning within 10 miles from the stadium. Official rules dictate that there has to be 30 minutes without a lightning strike before play can resume, with players therefore eventually emerging for a 7:10pm restart time. The Red Rose thought they'd grabbed a third once again shortly after the stoppage but Carpenter was denied a debut try after a knock-on by Murley. But the Harlequins winger made amends just moments later when he weaved in from the left to dot down and finally stretch England's lead to 19-0. Borthwick's players continued their ruthless mood immediately after the break when Northmore played in Van Poortvliet for the scrum-half to grab his second try in as many matches. The England chief begun to ring the changes as the second half progressed, bringing on Randall, Fin Baxter and Ben Curry just after the 50th minute. And scrum-half Randall got in on the act 10 minutes after entering the fray, crossing after being played in by Feyi-Waboso following a brilliant break to extend England's lead to over 30 points. Borthwick then handed debuts to hooker Oghre and fly-half Charlie Atkinson as the game headed towards a conclusion. And both wasted no time in marking the occasion in style, with Oghre bundling over from close range before Atkinson's conversion hauled England's lead to 40 points. USA grabbed a late consolation through Klein to give the home fans who remained something to cheer about but England's work was done as they ended their triumphant tour in style. Purchase your tickets to the Autumn Nations Series at Allianz Stadium
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
England overcome weather delays and disruption to clinch USA triumph
In a match that kicked off an hour later than scheduled owing to lightning strikes in the American capital, Curtis Langdon, Luke Northmore, Cadan Murley, Jack van Poortvliet, Harry Randall and debutant Gabriel Oghre all scored to make it three transatlantic wins from three following their impressive 2-0 victory in Argentina. The clash was also delayed by a subsequent half an hour when the players were marched off after a second strike but Steve Borthwick's side, who did concede late on when Shilo Klein crashed over for the hosts, kept their composure to stroll to a comfortable triumph. The result stretches England's current winning run to seven matches, their longest since back in 2020 ahead of upcoming autumn internationals against the likes of Australia and New Zealand at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. The Saturday night encounter was the second of an Audi Field double header after USA had battled past Fiji 31-24 in front of a US women's record 15,198 fans earlier in the afternoon. That initially gave both sides just under an hour to gear up for the men's encounter as centre Max Ojomoh, full-back Joe Carpenter and second row Arthur Clark all prepared for their England debuts. Exeter Chiefs flyer Immanuel Feyi-Waboso was also making his hotly-anticipated return after missing the Argentinian leg of the tour while serving a two-match ban for a high tackle in a pre-tour warm-up match against a France XV. But a weather alert just 15 minutes before kick-off meant the match was delayed by an hour as the players were evacuated after a lightning strike. With proceedings eventually getting underway at 6:05pm local time, both sets of players emerged to another packed-out crowd as the flashes in the sky were replaced by a pyrotechnics display to greet their arrival from the tunnel. The encounter started scrappily but England could have grabbed an early breakthrough when debutant Clark was set free only for a penalty to be awarded for a forward pass from Van Poortvliet, matchwinner in the second Test against Argentina last weekend, in the build-up. The Eagles were dealt a blow shortly after when fly-half Chris Hilsenbeck received a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on – and England took full advantage when Langdon bundled over after a rolling maul just two minutes later. And they doubled their lead moments after when Ojomoh deftly put centre partner Northmore in to cross under the posts. George Ford, fresh off the back of his 100th cap in South America and a celebratory visit to the British Embassy in DC earlier this week, converted once again to fire England into a 14-0 lead. England thought they had a third when Alex Dombrandt crossed following an efficient-looking line-out routine but the try was disallowed for obstruction from the Harlequins No.8. And just seconds after that, both sets of players were marched off the pitch once again following more lightning within 10 miles from the stadium. Official rules dictate that there has to be 30 minutes without a lightning strike before play can resume, with players therefore eventually emerging for a 7:10pm restart time. The Red Rose thought they'd grabbed a third once again shortly after the stoppage but Carpenter was denied a debut try after a knock-on by Murley. But the Harlequins winger made amends just moments later when he weaved in from the left to dot down and finally stretch England's lead to 19-0. Borthwick's players continued their ruthless mood immediately after the break when Northmore played in Van Poortvliet for the scrum-half to grab his second try in as many matches. The England chief begun to ring the changes as the second half progressed, bringing on Randall, Fin Baxter and Ben Curry just after the 50th minute. And scrum-half Randall got in on the act 10 minutes after entering the fray, crossing after being played in by Feyi-Waboso following a brilliant break to extend England's lead to over 30 points. Borthwick then handed debuts to hooker Oghre and fly-half Charlie Atkinson as the game headed towards a conclusion. And both wasted no time in marking the occasion in style, with Oghre bundling over from close range before Atkinson's conversion hauled England's lead to 40 points. USA grabbed a late consolation through Klein to give the home fans who remained something to cheer about but England's work was done as they ended their triumphant tour in style. Purchase your tickets to the Autumn Nations Series at Allianz Stadium
South Wales Argus
4 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Daniel Dubois vows ‘I'll be back' after second loss to Oleksandr Usyk
Usyk had shown his class against the 27-year-old from London during a one-sided contest in Krakow in 2023, where Dubois was adjudged to have landed an illegal low blow in round five, but the Ukrainian had been warned throughout fight week to expect a 'different' opponent this time. Yet, Usyk (24-0, 15KOs) proved too strong for Dubois (22-3, 21KOs) once again. After the former undisputed cruiserweight champion had got the better of the opening four rounds, he produced a masterful fifth-round finish to further cement his status as one of the sport's all-time greats. After Dubois was put down by a powerful right punch, the British boxer bravely made it back to his feet. He was floored again a matter of seconds later by a huge left hit to taste defeat for a third time in his professional career. It earned Usyk his 24th win and a seventh in a row against fighters from this country to ensure he got his hands back on the IBF title to add to his WBA, WBO and WBC belts as he became undisputed in the blue riband division for a second time. Dubois said: 'I have to commend him on his performance. I gave everything I had, probably a few things I could have sharpened up on, but take no credit away from the man. 'I was just fighting, I was in a fight and trying to pick up round by round. It is what it is, but I'll be back. Oleksandr Usyk celebrates winning the IBF, IBO, WBC and WBO world heavyweight bout against Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium (Bradley Collyer/PA) 'I want to thank everyone for coming out. I gave my best, we'll go back to the drawing board and come again.' Usyk later revealed the money shot was not a left hook but a punch titled 'Ivan' by the 38-year-old, who again went up a level in a rematch like he also showed against Dubois' compatriots Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. 'Listen, we prepare for this fight with my team. We learn from first fight, we have a long time, two years, and we prepare a combination. You know the punch name Ivan,' Usyk revealed. 'Left hook? A hook is like this (gesture), that is Ivan. It is Ukrainian name. Ivan is you know a big guy, who lives in a village, he is Kozak, you say, 'what is your name?' And he says, 'my name is Ivan,'. 'Yeah, it is a hard, hard punch, Ivan. It is a long time. Maybe first time is 2018? Yeah, first time. It was USA in cruiserweight. 'Now I want to go back home, now I want to do a choice over what next. I will continue in boxing, I will continue in training, but now I cannot say who next.' This vintage Usyk victory meant he enjoyed more English capital success after he claimed Olympic gold at the London Games in 2012 and four years ago clinched his first world heavyweight belts in a points victory over Anthony Joshua at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Daniel Dubois walks out for the IBF, IBO, WBC and WBO world heavyweight bout against Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley Stadium (Bradley Collyer/PA) However, quizzed on if he agreed that he was one of the greatest of all-time, Usyk smirked: 'Ha, no. 'For me, UK is like a second home because this I take all my trophy. European (amateur) champion (in Liverpool), London 2012, Tony Bellew, Dereck Chisora, Anthony Joshua, three-time undisputed Dubois, I am very grateful for this country.' Queensberry promoter Frank Warren added: 'We witnessed one of the true modern-day legends tonight in action. 'Oleksandr Usyk for me is a heavyweight in any generation that would be an outstanding fighter. I take my hat off to him in how he coped, how he showed such mental resilience in someone's back yard, he is something special. He is a special fighter.' 'Daniel is obviously very disappointed, he is in the dressing room at the moment but he will come back.'
