Westwood bridesmaid again
ENGLAND’S Lee Westwood admits he is baffled by his inability to make the leap from perennial nearly-man to Major champion.
Westwood had to make do with second place at the Open yesterday, just as he did at the Masters – making it four top-three finishes in his last five Majors.
“I know what I’ve got to do: improve,” said Westwood. “I’m showing a lot of consistency, but it’s not quite good enough. I’m not sure what it is quite. I keep putting myself in position and in contention – that’s all I can do. I didn’t get off to a quick enough start today.
“I thought if I could turn in five under anything was possible, but it was difficult out there. The pin positions were tough. This is not an easy course when there’s a 20mph wind blowing. And Louis is obviously playing really well.”
Countryman Paul Casey looked the most likely to derail Louis Oosthuizen but his challenge died when he carded a disastrous triple bogey at 12. Yet he refused to be downhearted.
“As disappointed as I am with the way I played today, Louis was in a different league,” said Casey. “That softens my disappointment slightly, because it was a tremendous performance. Hats off to him.”
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who finished tied for third with Casey on eight under par, insists he will not be haunted by the woeful round on Friday that wrecked his bid.
“It’s not going to give me nightmares,” said McIlroy.
“I’m sure I’ll wake up in the morning and look at the fact I was 16 under for three rounds and had just one bad round – it’s fine.”