Westwood Hits the High Spot

England’s Lee Westwood has been named The European Tour Golfer of the Month for September following a sensational month which culminated in his victory in The Quinn Direct British Masters at The Belfry. Westwood was the unanimous choice of the panel after a string of performances which saw him follow three top ten finishes with a resounding five stroke victory over the Brabazon Course at The Belfry. During that run of four tournaments, Westwood was an impressive 45 under par, with 14 of his 16 rounds played in par or better. That included his breathtaking 61 in the opening round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship at Gut Lärchenhof, Cologne, where he eventually finished joint sixth. The 34 year old was also joint sixth in the Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club. At The Belfry, Westwood thrilled a gallery packed with friends and family with an imperious display, thwarting the hopes of his nearest challengers, fellow Englishmen Ian Poulter and Mark Foster, with a 30 foot birdie on the 16th and then an eagle on the 17th on his way to a final round of 65 and a 15 under par winning total of 273. It was Westwood’s second triumph of the season following his victory in the Valle Romano Open de Andalucia in May and the fifth time he has recorded multiple victories in a European Tour season. His 18th European Tour win saw him move to joint second in list of most prolific English winners on The European Tour, alongside Mark James, behind Nick Faldo with 30. Bill Elliott, Golf Correspondent of The Observer, said: “Lee’s achievements in September were quite outstanding, culminating with his victory in The Quinn Direct British Masters, secured with an absolutely stunning final round of 65 at The Belfry.” Westwood claimed the award ahead of a number of worthy candidates who performed with distinction during September. Australian Brett Rumford got the month off to a memorable start when he made a return to the winners’ circle with victory at the Omega European Masters, denying England’s Phillip Archer in a play-off. It was Rumford’s first win since the 2004 Irish Open and the first win in the Omega European Masters by an Australian since Graham Marsh in 1972. The following week, Denmark’s Søren Hansen gained his second European Tour victory at the Mercedes-Benz Championship, with Archer again second alongside Alastair Forsyth of Scotland. Hansen’s victory elevated him into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time. Archer’s display in the Seve Trophy at The Heritage Golf & Spa Resort in Ireland where, in his first experience of team golf in 17 years, he was unbeaten in his five matches, winning three and halving two ties, also drew praise as did the performance of Bradley Dredge, who was also unbeaten in becoming the top points scorer with four and a half points from five. And on the other side of the world, European Tour Member Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant created Asian Tour history by claiming a record ninth Asian Tour event after a tense play-off against fellow European Tour Members, Chinarat Phadungsil and Simon Yates at the inaugural Midea China Classic. Wiratchant triumph saw him become the most prolific winner, overtaking the eight wins by Thongchai Jaidee. Other award winners so far in 2007 have been Retief Goosen of South Africa (January), Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (February), South Africa’s Anton Haig (March), Austria’s Markus Brier (April), Padraig Harrington of Ireland (May and July), Angel Cabrera of Argentina (June) and Marc Warren of Scotland (August). At the end of the year, a panel will select The European Tour Golfer of the Year.