Some players can climb into the recesses of their mind with such ease that any tournament, any hole, any shot can be explained in fine detail. Lee Westwood is not one of them; as is illustrated when the 43-year-old is asked to recall the Open Championships he played at Royal Troon in 1997 and 2004.
“I came back here last week and remembered all of the back nine but none of the front nine, apart from the Postage Stamp,” Westwood says on the eve of the 145th Open. “I didn’t remember the 9th at all but then funnily enough I could remember 10, 11, 12, 13. I have played a good bit, as well.”
Sitting in a house just a mid-iron from Troon’s famous links, he is nudged back to 1997 again, when a share of 10th place provided his finest major finish at the time and kickstarted his prominence at the highest level.
“I honestly can’t remember much of it,” Westwood says. “I’m sure there was an impact but I don’t remember it at all now. I just remember it being tough, thinking: ‘God, it is hard here’ but there was tough weather as well. I can’t remember anything from 2004.”
Westwood’s close shaves with glory – 2009 at Turnberry and 2013 at Muirfield included – play a part in the story of perhaps the finest player in a generation without a major to his name. When pressed as to which on these shores hurt more, Westwood’s response is a detailed one.
“Turnberry, certainly,” he recalls. “It feels more than any of them like the one that got away. If I hadn’t three-putted that last hole, I was in the play-off.
“Muirfield was different, Phil Mickelson played so well and I didn’t play well, which let the tournament get away from me a little bit. I was sore at Turnberry because it was me who made the mistake and I hadn’t hit that many bad shots coming down the stretch.
“I hit a really good shot into the 15th that got unlucky with a bounce. I hit a good putt on the 16th that deserved to go in, 17th the same for eagle. On the 18th I three-putted after a shot out of a bunker that was probably the best shot I have ever hit. To do what I did from there was disappointing.
“I don’t mind talking about it. I have finished high up in major championships, it is something I am proud of. Being a contender in majors regularly is something to be proud of.”
Perhaps Westwood is a tremendous liar. Maybe if he wins a major at his 74th attempt on Sunday, there will be an outpouring that falling short so many times before had secretly gnawed away at him. In public, though, he is adamant regarding what his personal assessment would be if his career were to finish after this tournament. “Brilliant,” the Englishman says. “I was the best in the world, wasn’t I?
“I would love to win one, don’t get me wrong. I would love to win two or three – but it is not something I lose any sleep over. I honestly don’t think much about it. I would be delighted to win at the Open Championship because I have come close a few times but it doesn’t cross my mind what it would feel like. There is more to life than golf; it is only a game.
“I love being in contention. I love that buzz, that atmosphere. There is nothing like that atmosphere of people shouting for you down the stretch. Nothing beats playing well as a home player at the Open, with everybody getting behind you.”
Make no mistake, Westwood still believes time is on his side. “There is no course I can’t play,” he says. “Some weeks it suits bombers more but I’m not short. I contended at the Masters, I contended at the US Open. I know I can still contend with them and beat them. On my game, I know I am as good as them.”
Westwood will tee off alongside Mickelson and Ernie Els when the tournament begins on Thursday. Come Sunday he may be the partner everyone in the field would choose. In the Masters and US Open this year, Westwood played alongside the eventual winners; Danny Willett and Dustin Johnson. At Augusta he finished tied for runner-up with Jordan Spieth; at Oakmont having been in contention going into the final round he shot a 10-over-par 80. Time to plunder the memory bank again.
“I hit a bad shot at the 16th at Augusta,” Westwood says. “I had a great chance to put some pressure on Danny there and hit a poor eight-iron, which came up 40ft short.
“At Oakmont on Sunday, I hit a couple of poor shots early on; well, poor for a US Open where you can’t be more than a couple of yards out. I made bogeys at the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and the course wasn’t going to get any easier after that. I got aggressive when I shouldn’t have been aggressive.”
Wouldn’t Westwood be only human if he felt a touch of jealousy towards Willett, 15 years his junior but with a Green Jacket already locked away? “Not at all,” Westwood says. “You only win majors when you do the right things at the right times. Danny played great on the Sunday and hit good shots coming down the stretch. His chip on the 17th was probably his most impressive shot of the day then he played the last so solidly. What are you supposed to do? He deserved to win.”
Westwood’s slide to 67th in the world early in 2015 – he was No1 for a total of 22 weeks in 2010 and 2011 – owed at least something to the break-up of his marriage. With legal issues continuing, he is unable to discuss the situation, other than to say: “It was difficult to concentrate on golf when I was going through that and I still am; it is not done by any stretch of the imagination but time has moved on.”
What is abundantly clear is that Westwood is happy. This stage of life has come easily, he does not yearn for youth. “I am not much different on the course,” he says. “I am a bit more relaxed, bad results wouldn’t really bother me so much.
“Ambitions haven’t changed; I still want to win majors and be in contention. I think the way I play now, the late 1990s, 2000s me would probably win more tournaments. I would finish them off. Sometimes you think about it a bit too much whereas when you are younger, you are out there with no thoughts at all.
“I never took success for granted. I always cherished every moment, I enjoyed what I was doing. When I go to Augusta it always makes me think I don’t want it to be my last Masters. In the early days, I always thought my best major chance would be the US Open because I drove the ball so well and hit it straight. I don’t drive it as straight as I used to but it has turned out that I have had more high finishes at the Masters anyway. I have been working hard; on my short game, my putting. I’m in a good place now as well and that certainly helps.
“Trying to prove myself and get into the Ryder Cup has also been a motivational factor. You don’t want to be playing poorly going into a Ryder Cup, you don’t want a friend or a sympathy pick. I suppose if you are looking at the team and Darren Clarke is needing an experienced player, there are probably none of them playing better than me and I am on the verge of the automatic places now anyway. If I don’t qualify, I’m trying to make Darren’s job a little bit easier.”
Then what would be left? “There is only really winning major championships, isn’t there?”
Few winners would be more widely acclaimed.
