By many observers’ accounts, Lee Westwood is the best golfer on the planet right now. He’s edged ahead of Mickelson in the rather statistically dubious World Golf Rankings, and is just behind Woods, who is still riding his lead from a couple of years ago. A first or second in this weekend’s Dunhill Cup, and Westwood will end Tiger’s 278 week reign.
Here’s how the World Golf Rankings has it figured out:
Lee Westwood will become World Number One on 10th Oct 2010 with a tied 2nd place with 2 others or better at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
Lee Westwood will become World Number One on 17th Oct 2010 if he wins a total of 18.6 points from the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship & the Portugal Masters (assuming Woods, Mickelson & Stricker don’t play any OWGR Qualifying tournaments before then)
Lee Westwood will become World Number One on 24th Oct 2010 if he wins a total of 16.4 points from the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship & the Portugal Masters (assuming Woods, Mickelson & Stricker don’t play any OWGR Qualifying tournaments before then)
Lee Westwood will become World Number One on 31st Oct 2010 if he wins a total of 6.2 points from the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship & the Portugal Masters (assuming Woods, Mickelson & Stricker don’t play any OWGR Qualifying tournaments before then)
It’s a measure, then, of the strength of the European Tour that Westwood says he’ll forgo an invitation to play the PGA Tour. The FedEx Cup, you see, will interfere with his kid’s vacation:
“
I don’t want to get into a situation where I have to play events in America just to make up 15 needed for tour membership,” he said. “The FedEx Cup sits right in the middle of the kids’ summer holidays and I like going on holiday with them for a couple of weeks.”
Good for Lee Westwood. He has a much more firm grasp on the important things in life than the man he soon will depose.
Discover more from GolfBlogger Golf Blog
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
It is a little bit of a joke that he isn’t number one already. It has been over a year since #1 won anything, and it has been over two years since #1 won a major.
I don’t know if this story speaks to the strength of the European Tour- Westwood admits that the money and the stature of the Cup and the Tour mean something to him, just not enough in comparison with his family. So he would prefer it to the European Tour if it wasn’t for the time required to travel and the 15 required appearances.
I haven’t been a fan, I like some of the other guys from over there – but I am a bigger fan now of Westwood.
This is one of the reasons I still like Phil even though in golf he is super frustrating. My guess is that the reason Phil isn’t number one right now is that he was spending too much time with the wife and girls instead of practicing after he won the Masters.
I would think it strange, though, that we would have a #1 who has not won a Major—or who regularly even contends, really. He’s been in the top ten just five times over the past 20 majors—two of those his seconds this past year. He’s been in the Top Ten seven times in the last 40 Majors.