logo
Golf legend and LIV hero Lee Westwood reveals one thing he will never do

Golf legend and LIV hero Lee Westwood reveals one thing he will never do

Daily Record4 hours ago
English star is enjoying a resurgence in form and made one thing crystal clear after his opening round at LIV UK
Evergreen Lee Westwood insists he'll never walk away from a golfing fight.

The English star is in a rich vein of form and maintained his excellent work of The Open at Royal Portrush with a flying start to LIV UK.

Westwood opened with a five-under round at JCB Golf and Country Club in Staffordshire and is revelling in current displays, which included a record-equalling back-nine score of 29 on his third round in last week's Major. The 52-year-old has endured massive highs and lows in his career, but has kept working and battling.

Westwood said: 'I've never given in in my career. I've had slumps and I've bounced back. I've been at No. 4 in the world and then nearly 300 and then bounced back to No. 1. So that tells you that Lee Westwood doesn't toss it in on a golf course or in his career. I was brought up to keep trying hard and grinding it out.
'It's a continuation of going right back to Washington really when I shot 62 in the final round. I had been playing well leading up to there. Golf is the type of game where you feel like you've finally got it and it doesn't give you the score that you think you should do, right? It never quite lets you.
'But then that final round there, I shot nine-under, I think, and that was kind of the trigger to give me some confidence that the good stuff I was working on on the range and on the putting green and on the short game area was paying off score-wise now. Then the last few weeks I've played a lot better without really seeing dramatic results.
'But I've felt good play and hopefully good scores coming. I've been driving the ball well, driving it longer, so yeah, it's all moving in the right direction. Just clarity really, clarity on things I want to work on in my swing and short game, Just play one round at a time, narrow it down to that, and whatever happens happens.'
Westwood and his colleagues are savouring the atmosphere at England's LIV event and and the former Ryder Cup hero is enjoying the adaption and change in tempo from the 153rd Championship in Northern Ireland last week. The occasions and the atmospheres are very different, but Westwood insists variety is important going forward in the current landscape of the sporting world.
He said: 'Am I comfortable with it? Yeah, I don't mind change and adapting. It's people in general that don't like change and adapting. People are used to the traditions and staying in their ways, their comfort. But all sports have to adapt and change. I think golf is doing a great job of it through LIV, yeah.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Padraig Harrington seals another major after storming to ISPS HANDA Senior Open Championship glory
Padraig Harrington seals another major after storming to ISPS HANDA Senior Open Championship glory

The Sun

timean hour ago

  • The Sun

Padraig Harrington seals another major after storming to ISPS HANDA Senior Open Championship glory

PADRAIG HARRINGTON stormed to a sensational Senior Open victory on Sunday - landing his second senior major title of the season in style. The three-time major champ took a two-shot lead into the final round at Sunningdale, and never looked back as he closed out a dominant wire-to-wire win. 2 2 He got off to a flyer with a stunning eagle at the first, before picking up birdies at six and nine to keep the momentum going. The Dubliner's only blemish on the front nine came at the eighth, where he dropped a shot with a bogey. But the Stackstown golf legend hit back in style to see out his second senior major title of the year after his win at the US Open in Colorado last month. He then carded another birdie at the 14th to stretch his lead to three shots over Justin Leonard, holding firm as the pressure mounted from the American. And the 2024 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee then held his nerve as after a bogey on 17, prior to finding a tough lie in the bunker on his approach. But the chasing Leonard couldn't make a par putt as Harrington maintained the three-shot lead heading up the last with caddie Ronan Flood. 53-year-old Harrington negotiated the last with a par to finish on -3 for his final round for a sixteen under par total as he lapped up the applause from a huge crowd in Berkshire. He finished three-strokes ahead of Thomas Bjorn and Justin Leonard, who signed-off for a total of -13 at Sunningdale. It's was his third senior major after wins at the 2022 and 2025 US Open Championships. He joins Darren Clarke and Christy O'Connor Jr as the only men from the Emerald Isle to win the Senior Open Championship crown. There was an overall purse of $2.85m on offer- - and a first prize of $447,800 for Harrington.

Superstar in the making - Lottie Woad wins Women's Scottish Open on pro debut
Superstar in the making - Lottie Woad wins Women's Scottish Open on pro debut

Scotsman

time2 hours ago

  • Scotsman

Superstar in the making - Lottie Woad wins Women's Scottish Open on pro debut

English player rounds off impressive performance by landing three-shot success at Dundonald Links Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Impressive in Ireland. Fantastic in France. Superb in Scotland. Now her aim is to be wonderful in Wales. Step forward Lottie Woad, who capped a fairytale July by winning the ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open by three shots at Dundonald Links in Ayrshire. The 21-year-old from Hampshire won the KPMG Women's Irish Open at Carton House as an amateur at the start of the month before finishing second in The Evian Championship, the penultimate women's major of the season, in France. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Lottie Woad poses with the trophy after winning the ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open at Dundonald Links |On the back of those eye-catching efforts, the spotlight was on Woad as she made her professional debut on Scottish soil and, boy, did she make the sporting world sit up and take notice. At no point over the course of the four days in the $2 million event did she ever look as though she was flustered, even if her reddened face might sometimes give that impression. The truth of the matter is that Woad is a bit shy and probably feels a bit uncomfortable being the centre of attention, but, on the evidence of the past few weeks, she is going to have to get used to it. In short, she's a superstar in the making. 'Very special to win in my first event,' she said of this success. 'You know, everyone was chasing me today, and I managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots, which is nice.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Two ahead at the start of the day in the LET and LPGA co-sanctioned event, Woad was joined at the top of the leaderboard by Korean Hyo Joo Kim early on the back nine and the pair were still locked together as Woad played the 14th and Kim tackled the 15th. Almost at the same time, Woad rolled in a five-footer for a birdie at her hole while Kim missed from the same distance for a par in the match in front. Event over. Signing for a closing 68, Woad finished with a 21-under-par total, which had also been her winning aggregate in Ireland. Due to her amateur status, she didn't pick up the winner's cheque on that occasion, but this title triumph led to $300,000 being deposited in her bank account. Lottie Woad embraces her caddie Dermot Byrne as she celebrates victory on her professional debut |'I don't even know what the winner's cheque is,' she admitted. 'But, yeah, I mean, a lot of people have obviously talked about me not winning any money. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But I knew going into this event, at the start, I wasn't going to win any money. Didn't make too much difference. And then I knew if I kept playing how I was, then it would all work out.' She described her exploits in July as 'pretty good' and, on this evidence, August could be tasty, too. It starts with an appearance in the AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl and, 12 months after finishing as the leading amateur at St Andrews, it seems as though she'll be a contender for the top prize this time around. 'Yeah. Just looking to continue the momentum, really,' she said of her next assignment, which starts on Thursday. Woad, who underlined her potential when winning the Augusta National Women's Amateur in 2023, is just the third player to win in their first start on the LPGA Tour as a member, joining Jin Young Ko (2018 ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open) and Beverly Hanson (1951 Eastern Open). She also became the ninth player to win in their first professional start in an official LPGA Tour event since 1980 and the first since American Rose Zhang achieved the feat in the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open as a non-LPGA member. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I felt pretty good going down 18 because I knew I had a two-shot lead and just hit an 80-yard lay-up and an 80-yard shot,' said Woad. 'So I felt pretty confident coming down there. It was always nice to finish with a birdie. So just had like a two-footer, which is a nice length, so, yeah, happy.' Rightly so and, in addition to her mum and dad, Rachel and Nick, there to see it were her granny Marian and auntie Sarah. 'They are not Scottish,' she reported. 'They live in Edinburgh. So I'm up here quite a bit.' Her aunty moved to Scotland after marrying a Scot, but Woad was unsure why her granny is up here. 'Maybe Sarah, my aunt, is the favourite child and she wanted to be near her,' she joked. Though five players started out on Sunday still in with a chance, it had turned into a two-horse race at the turn and, though Kim gave it a great go and deserved to end up as the bridesmaid, there was no denying that Woad never looked under any pressure and, moreover, never wobbled at any point. Lottie Woad's grandmother Marian, who lives in Edinburgh, watches the last round at Dundonald Links from a buggy |'Yeah, it might have looked less stressful than maybe it was at times, but I think I only had like three bogeys,' said Woad of her week's work. 'On links golf, it's definitely about bogey avoidance. That was probably the key to winning.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad As was her wedge play, which was stunning from 120 yards in and also around the green, where she opted to take a club with loft on it rather than a putter. 'My wedges have always been a strength, and my approaches in general, I can usually rely on it and control the spin pretty nicely,' she said, smiling. After signing off with a best-of-the-day 65, Spaniard Julia Lopez Ramirez shared third spot with Korean Sei Young Kim on 14 under, with Nelly Korda finishing a further stroke behind in fifth spot.

‘Not common to witness this at 15' – Mikel Arteta joins Arsenal fans in being blown away by Max Dowman against Newcastle
‘Not common to witness this at 15' – Mikel Arteta joins Arsenal fans in being blown away by Max Dowman against Newcastle

Scottish Sun

time2 hours ago

  • Scottish Sun

‘Not common to witness this at 15' – Mikel Arteta joins Arsenal fans in being blown away by Max Dowman against Newcastle

To the Max 'Not common to witness this at 15' – Mikel Arteta joins Arsenal fans in being blown away by Max Dowman against Newcastle Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) MIKEL ARTETA has joined the chorus of Arsenal fans who have been left astonished by the exploits of Max Dowman. Dowman, 15, stole the show in a half hour cameo as the Gunners edged out Newcastle 3-2 in a friendly. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Max Dowman put in an impressive display in a 30-minute cameo for Arsenal against Newcastle Credit: Getty 4 The 15-year-old lit up the pitch after being brought on by Mikel Arteta Credit: Getty 4 And his performance left fans buzzing Credit: Reuters The teenager made a mockery of established Premier League defenders during the clash in Singapore as he won the penalty - scored by Martin Odegaard - which sealed the deal in Arsenal's favour. He didn't just pass the eye test either, with an impressive stat line including two out of three successful dribbles, two shots on target and being the most fouled player in the whole game hammering home his potential. Speaking after the match, even Arsenal boss Arteta was unable to tone down his high-hopes for the prodigy. He said: "Yeah, it is special. Obviously what he's done today against this team in the time that he had on the pitch is something certainly not common to witness for a 15-year-old. "We are extremely happy to have him. I think again the environment that he's around in. "His family, the people at the club and around the academy as well, super helpful because they put him into this position so early in his journey, having a real chance and a real presence when he plays for the first time." Despite not turning 16 until December, Dowman will be eligible to star for the Emirates outfit's first team next season. And Arsenal fans have high hopes for the youngster's upcoming season. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK Talk TV host and Sun columnist Piers Morgan said on social media: "This kid is the real deal.. 15 years old and running rings round Newcastle's first team? Nuts.. and so exciting." A second said: "Lionel Messi, I hope you enjoyed your time as the greatest footballer of all time because Max Dowman is here now." Arsenal CONFIRM £63.5million Viktor Gyokeres transfer as striker takes iconic No14 made famous by Thierry Henry A third added: "I don't think people realize how good Max Dowman is and what he could become. At 15, he looked like the best player on the pitch. This is a Lamine Yamal level of talent." Another said: "Hale End producing a world beater in Max Dowman. Doing this against senior Newcastle players to win a penalty at 15?? Lost for words…" A fifth said: "Can't lie Max Dowman might be the best 15 yr old English player I have seen. The kid is a joke."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store