 England's Lee Westwood returns to compete in the Nedbank Golf Challenge this year for
the first time in nearly four years and returns a dramatically improved golfer since when
he tied for sixth after a last round 80 in 2004. As Westwood prepares to compete against
many of the best players in the world, the Englishman can celebrate a heartening return to
form.
In 2000, Westwood won five times and usurped Colin Montgomerie as the European
Tour’s number one. He climbed to number four in the world (behind Tiger Woods, Duval
and Montgomerie), but while Woods set about rewriting the record books, Westwood lost his
way, at one point plummeting to number 266 on the world ranking.
In 2001, Westwood’s form fell into a serious decline and the Worksop pro finished
the European Tour season ranked 52nd. The following year, Westwood couldn’t crack the
top-10 in any tournament and slipped to 75th in Europe. At the age of 28 the world had all
but written off the former English star. Westwood, however, was having none of that.
Fast forward to the 2008 Bridgestone Invitational in August.
His remarkable second round 65 in the World Golf Championships event served two
purposes. The first, a reminder to the world of just how far the former European Tour
number one has come – a 67th at the Open Championship and a missed cut at the PGA
excepted – since he dipped to an all time low in 2001 and the second, a deadly wedge
game that filled the void in a previously vulnerable armoury.
Westwood threw himself wholeheartedly into his comeback. The man who coined the phrase
‘I’m a golfer, not an athlete’, converted to the benefits of the gym and
slimmed down dramatically.
While the new, svelte Westwood is hitting the ball further, it is his short game that
has brought his game to a solid level of consistency. 29 tournament victories worldwide
and European Tour Order of Merit victory in 2000 bore testimony to his strength of mind,
his good driving and iron play, but the Achilles Heel was noticeable every time he faced a
chip over a bunker or a recovery shot to a green sloping away from him.
His second victory in 2007 followed soon after Westwood started working with Mark Roe,
the former European Tour player and installed a chipping and putting green at his home in
Nottinghamshire. Roe had some sessions with Westwood ahead of the US Open and the result
spoke for itself. He paired a joint-11th in the Masters with a third at the US Open,
narrowly missing out on a spot in the play-off between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate.
"The importance of the improvement in my short game is that it has spread
confidence throughout the rest of my play," Westwood said of his performance at
Torrey Pines. "I have been playing very consistently. My bad shots don't seem to be
so bad. In fact, I haven't been hitting as many. I used to feel intimidated by courses
like Augusta. I felt it was too long for me. Now I feel I can score there."
Westwood has been around for so long (he turned pro in 1993) that he is often thrown in
the same bracket as ISM stable mate Darren Clarke and Colin Montgomerie. He is, in fact,
only four years older than Paul Casey and two younger than double Open champion, Padraig
Harrington, making him a more-than-realistic candidate for a Major championship in the
near future.
Everything suggests that, in his sixth appearance in Africa’s Major, Westwood also
finally has the perfect package for the Gary Player Country Club, where distance and
dexterity are demanded in equal measure. | 
