4 days ago
British Open 2025: Lee Westwood ties Open record Saturday at Royal Portrush
'It was a good back nine, wasn't it?'
Lee Westwood didn't need an answer. He already knew. A few hours earlier he had turned in 4-over 40 at Royal Portrush, his burst of surprising play finally simmering out. But with six birdies coming home, Westwood rocketed back up the leaderboard with an Open record-tying back-nine 29.
That score equaled Ryan Fox's second-nine 29 in the first round here at Portrush in 2019. Only Denis Durnian has carded better than 29 for nine holes, posting a front-nine 28 in the second round of the 1983 Open at Royal Birkdale.
Westwood could've had the record all his own, too, had it not been for the 15-footer that lipped out at the par-4 18th hole.
'The putt at the last, I'm not sure how it's missed,' Westwood told reporters afterward. 'I was just saying, on the front nine I was looking around the golf course and I was like, 'Oh, my God, where am I going to make a couple of birdies to get this back to half decent?' Then just started making good swings from 7 in really. Then I was looking at, 'Wow, I feel like I could birdie every hole.'
'Just shows you you've got to be patient and never give up, right? Stick at it.'
Westwood was for years considered the best player never to win a major, though now, at age 52, his days of major contention are seemingly over. In four years on LIV, he's mustered just two top-10 finishes. He's ranked 45th in points this season, ahead of just nine full-time players.
But earlier this week, Westwood argued that he'd turned a corner with his game. Earlier this summer, he'd fired a final-round 62 at LIV D.C., and the swing had only gotten better since. The newfound confidence inspired him to sign up for final qualifying for the first time in three years. He breezed through his qualifier to earn a berth in his 28th career Open Championship.
And yet, Westwood says he arrived at Portrush with no expectations.
'I've set no goals for this week at all whatsoever,' Westwood said Saturday. 'That's why I really wasn't that disappointed when I was 4 over through six because I thought, it's the Open Championship, how many more am I going to get to play? You might as well enjoy it. There's no point in being 4 over through six and sulking and being miserable and thinking, there goes my Open Championship chance this year.
'You might as well just enjoy the surroundings, enjoy the feedback from the crowd because they're great, and just plot along and try and figure out what was going wrong with my swing.'
Westwood found the answer quickly. Refueled by a half tuna sandwich at the turn, he hooped a couple of mid-range birdies at Nos. 10 and 11, then rolled in a 5-footer at the par-5 12th. He stuffed his approach at the par-4 14th, followed by a birdie bomb at the par-4 15th. Finally, a 20-footer at the par-4 17th, for his last birdie.
'I just kept writing down a lot of 3s on my scorecard, and I was like, 'This is going well,'' Westwood said.
Westwood will enter Sunday at 5 under, nine shots off Scottie Scheffler's lead. He's got no real chance to win a claret jug this year. But at T-14 and a shot outside the top 10, he could ensure his place at Royal Birkdale next year with a solid finish.
The key?
'I'm going to have a tuna sandwich on the first tee tomorrow,' Westwood said.
And then he'll go from there.
