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Westwood

5 Things: Westwood re-wires putting brain, Rory, Willett and North Korea

Lee Westwood is hoping to reboot his putting stroke while Rory has his say on the way the Ryder Cup team is selected
 

1) Westwood to speed up putting routine

One of the great unsolved mysteries in golf, the putting of Lee John Westwood, is now in the hands of a former snooker player turned sports psychologist.

Chris Henry’s previous clients include Stephen Hendry, Shaun Murphy, Peter Ebdon and Jimmy White and he has not switched sports to try and galvanise the fortunes of Westwood.

The Englishman’s efforts on the greens have long been talked about, the player will argue that you can’t get to No 1 in the world without being a good putter, which is no doubt true, but compared to the rest of his game it is an obvious weakness.

For years now we have witnessed a variety of putters and strokes and it is never more evident than every year at Augusta that Westwood is losing ground on his closest rivals.

Westwoood’s manager Chubby Chandler told The Mirror: “He finished third at the British Masters and he started that week with a sports psychologist who is a bit different – a snooker player. The magical words obviously worked. He got him to quicken up his putting routine – he has to hit it within six seconds from the moment he stands over it.”

Chandler added that Henry’s main task will be to flush out all the old thoughts and have some new ones as he stands over the ball.

“It has definitely cleared his brain out. He has missed a few putts over the years that have mattered and it does get harder. That is why he is using this guy to help re-wire the brain a bit and instead of thinking it is going to miss, thinking it is going to go in.”

Westwood finished T52 in Turkey.

2) Rory – Ryder Cup should be ‘best 12 players’

The Ryder Cup has been happening for close to 100 years, is supposedly the third biggest event on the sporting calendar and has more hype than all the Majors put together yet not many people can agree on the best way to pick the teams.

Europe’s leading superstar Rory McIlroy had his say last week on a podcast with No Laying Up and, although it might not make brilliant listening to the European Tour or the thrill of who gets a captain’s pick, it’s pretty difficult to disagree with the maestro.

Lee Westwood said much the same as McIlroy in his press conference in Turkey.

This year Paul Casey gave up his membership of the European Tour to focus on the PGA Tour, a decision that has seen him rocket back up to No 12 in the world, while Russell Knox missed out as he wasn’t a member when he won the WGC in Shanghai and wasn’t re-awarded the points when he did sign up for membership. Had they been he would have made it ahead of Matt Fitzpatrick.

Here’s what Rory had to say on the matter: “Honestly, it should be the best 12 players from Europe versus the best 12 players from the United States. For me, there shouldn’t be anything to do with membership of tours,” McIlroy said. “To have a guy like Paul Casey not on our team when he is playing some of the best golf in the world right now, it definitely hurt us.

“I know that isn’t as exciting in terms of captain’s picks and qualifying process and everything else, but if we’re trying to make it the fairest way for the best 12 to make each team, I think that’s the way to go.”

And it wasn’t the European system that could do with a tweak, according to the four-time Major winner. He added that the decision to omit Bubba Watson, who was No 7 in the world when the teams were picked, made him feel ‘a little uneasy’.

3) Willett pooh poohs Pelley’s latest vision

European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley is full of ideas and one of his latest innovations is to do something under the lights in 2017.

“I played six holes under the lights the other night (in Turkey) and it was spectacular. It was incredible,” Pelley said.

“There was a little three-hole match with Haydn Porteous and Brandon Stone and we will definitely do something live under the lights next year. I think you would get buy-in from 95 per cent of the actual players. It is different though with the shadows and if somebody’s eyesight is not 100 per cent then they might push back, but we will definitely have a competition for money under the lights next year.”

Pressed further on the subject the Canadian added that a tournament might even be on the cards.

“I would say nothing is impossible. It gets dark at six so I don’t know. Anything is possible.”

Asked what he thought the Masters champion Danny Willett didn’t exactly share Pelley’s vision.

“That would be a useless idea. It would be OK for a giggle but not for a real tournament and Race To Dubai money.”

4) Sure we’re pros…

Korea

North Korea wouldn’t be on many golfers’ bucket lists but two Aussies had an experience that they will never forget.

Morgan Ruig and Evan Shay were on a polo trip in Beijing when they heard about a two-day tournament in North Korea and they managed to blag their way into it, despite not being the professionals that they pretended to be.

The course in Pyongyang was opened by the country’s late leader (and quite the natural) Kim Jong-il in 1987, he famously claimed to have recorded 11 hole-in-ones there on his first round ever, signing for an impressive 38 under.

The Aussie pair were shown round the city on a five-day trip but their golf failed to match the heights of the late leader.

“We were very nervous handing our passports over at the border. There are stories of people not coming home,” Ruig told the Courier-Mail newspaper.

“I hit 120 and my caddy told me I had bought great shame to my family. We played very poorly… but we met some very interesting people.”

5) Pampling misses 12-footer for a 59

What might have been…

 

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