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ABU DHABI — Not many remember the 1994 Madeira Open, aside from Sweden’s Mats Lanner’s victory. But Lee Westwood did. It was there, in the Portuguese archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa, that the then 20-year-old Briton made his professional debut on the European Tour. His performance wasn’t too bad either. The 72-69-75 round gave Westwood an eight-man tie for 19th in the weather-shortened event. For this, he earned €3,941.
Nearly three decades later, much has changed in both golf and Westwood. His meager first checks were a herald of Tour revenue, which today stands at around 35 million euros. Along the way, has recorded 25 victories, 171 top-ten finishes and 102 cuts, and played in 10 Ryder Cup appearances.
Combined with his years of globetrotting, Westwood finished first in 44 events, beating the likes of Tiger Woods and Greg Norman in a variety of events late Sunday. So the 49-year-old from Worksop has done pretty well, both for himself and for the tour he still calls home.
“There were so many bright spots,” said Westwood, whose caddy Mick Dolan was back on his bag this week. “Hey, Mick, the late 90s were good, weren’t they? He couldn’t remember because he got drunk every Sunday night after we won. I won eight games twice a year. Played both times Six tours. To be honest, it’s a bit of a blur to me too. Winning is just a habit. That’s the fearlessness of youth. When I’m on the charts, I win. Like Monty , and Tiger of course. Their name comes up on the leaderboard and people say “oh no, it’s him” and back off. Make it easier.
“Beating Tiger in Germany was special,” he continued. “But beating Tiger anytime is special, isn’t it? I won twice around that course. A year there until I shot 11-under 61 Saturday morning and flew into contention. I didn’t really get into it until I was in the crown. Then I shot a 66 on the final day and won. That’s the way it was. Good day.”
At this stage, then, Westwood should be a respected statesman on the DP World Tour right now. But of course he wasn’t. His lucrative switch to LIV Golf last summer may have permanently soured a relationship that was supposed to be based on mutual admiration and respect. At the HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi this week – which will be Westwood’s 588th start on the European/DP World Tour – he was on the field but has been limited to an afterthought. He didn’t have a spot in Wednesday’s pros and formed an unremarkable trio with Ross Fisher and Victor Dobson.
“Why don’t we [LIV players] Going to the Pro-Am this week? Like, why don’t you have me and Poults [Ian Poulter] Play. This doesn’t do the sponsor much good.why with [arbitration between LIV and DP World Tours] I hear you’re going to change your routine? Why not treat us all equally before making a decision? “
However, that snub isn’t the thing that’s keeping Westwood’s mind the most active when the conversation inevitably turns to the DP World Tour in 2023.
“I’m not sure where the European Tour is now,” he said. “If you tell me I’m going to be on the $9 million tour, it’s hard for me to believe you. But if you also tell me there’s only one member of the world’s top 20 in the field, I’ll think you’re crazy … whoever he is, but no disrespect to the No. 15 player on the Challenge Tour this week. It’s a short field, and next week will be another $9 million event. I never knew it would go down To this far, even if it is far from the money.
“I’ve had a lot of people come up to me this week and say, ‘Thank you for playing this week and supporting us,'” he continued. “But the PGA Tour forces the top players to play, and that keeps them from playing here. The structure of the FedEx Cup is to have every player play every week, and that doesn’t leave much leeway for any other tour. Right now. It’s a double whammy in terms of the world rankings.”
Things may become clearer after a five-day arbitration hearing (February 6-10), which will determine whether Westwood and his LIV teammates can continue on the DP World Tour.
“With the hearings, some sort of line will be drawn in the sand,” Westwood said. “There will be clarity, though whether it is as clear as everyone says, let’s see. Everything is a bit blurry. Not always pleasant. A message was sent to the players the other day. Raising tension between players who aren’t using LIV and players who are using LIV. Why would you do this? Wait for the hearing and go from there. No hostility towards me from other players. It’s only coming from one place [the tour].
“If I do get banned, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. I don’t play guessing games. I love the European Tour. I’ve been playing for 30 years and I think I’m better than any People are more supportive of it. When I had the opportunity to get my PGA TOUR card in 1998 and 2010, I didn’t. I only picked up my US card once in a while when it was obvious that it was protecting my ranking But even though I’m a member of both tours, I always say I’m a member of the European Tour first. I don’t want to change that.”
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