near misses have been lee westwood’s fate in major championships of late, the soon-to-be 39-year-old
englishman having had six top-three finishes in his last
14 appearances. you’ll excuse him, then, for not getting
overly excited about his opening 67 at augusta national,
even as the score matched his previous best in 42 rounds
at the masters and gave him a lead after 18 holes in a
major for the first time in his career. “i’m just trying to
cruise my way in the tournament today,” westwood said
after taking a one-stroke lead on louis oosthuizen and
peter hanson, “get into good position and then hopefully stay there.” there’s reason, however, for the 21-time
european tour winner and seven-time ryder cup participant to return to the course friday with confidence.
he missed just two fairways and two greens in regulation thursday, a display of ball-striking that has become
westwood’s hallmark. more significantly, he managed to
adjust to the slow speeds on the soggy greens over the
first few holes, converting par putts when he needed on
nos. 1 and 3 before making four straight birdies on nos.
5-8, all coming from inside 12 feet. “i’m going to have to
play as good if not better than i did today to carry on in
the position i’m in,” said westwood, displaying the other
trait he hopes will help him finally claim a major title:
humility. —Ryan Herrington (@GWcampusinsider)
01westwood opens;strong
ap photo/matt slocum
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