Lee

Westwood

Lee Westwood was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, in 1973 and from his early days he was a keen participant in a range of sports. He enjoyed soccer, rugby, and cricket, and won a county cross-country title when he was just nine years old.

However, once his grandparents gave him a half-set of clubs at the age of 13, he decided to turn all his attention to golf. Within two years, after numerous hours at the golf club in his home town, he was the Nottinghamshire junior champion.

By 16 he was playing for England, and went on to represent Great Britain and Ireland. As an 18-year-old amateur, he won the prestigious Peter McEvoy Trophy, and two years later he turned professional.

His first taste of success in the pro ranks came in the Volvo Scandinavian Masters in 1996. More victories followed in 1997, including a victory in Melbourne at the Australian Open where he beat local hero Greg Norman in a playoff.

“He was world No.1 at the time, but I was on a hot streak… I went down there with a lot of confidence,” recalled Westwood with a smile. “I played well, and I beat him on the fourth extra hole. I remind him of that pretty much every time I see him!

“He was a hero of mine at the time, and still is… I probably wasn’t the most popular man in Melbourne that night!”

By the turn of the century, Lee Westwood was a regular winner across the world. He was European Tour Golfer of the Year in 1998 and 2000, and in the latter year won seven tournaments and broke Colin Montgomerie’s long reign in the European Order of Merit.

Winning on the Sunshine Tour in 2000 made him the first man to taste victory on all six professional golf tours worldwide.

His first serious tilt at the Masters had come in 1999. He moved into contention on the final day at Augusta with a sparkling front nine, before a disastrous run around Amen Corner saw him fall back into a tie for sixth place behind Jose Maria Olazabal.

Westwood stepped away from the game following the birth of his son in 2001, and took  time to restructure his swing under the direction of David Leadbetter, the man whose guidance inspired Nick Faldo to reach the very peak of the game.

It was not long before Westwood found his way back to the top of the leaderboard.

Throughout his career, Lee Westwood has carried an obvious relish for the challenge that golf presents to those who play it professionally. He said in 2024: “I like the challenge, I like testing myself constantly.

“I embrace the grind, I like the hard work, I like going into the gym and doing the hard work in there. I like standing on the range and trying to figure it out.

“Golf’s a very mentally challenging sport and the successful players are mentally very strong. If you say life’s not fair, don’t play golf. Because golf’s not fair.”

That statement helps to explain why Westwood has never become embittered at the fact his record is missing the Major triumph that his quality undoubtedly deserves.

Nine times he has finished second or third in golf’s most storied events, and between 2008 and 2010 he came agonizingly close on several occasions.

At the 2008 US Open, Westwood missed a long birdie putt on the last green to reach a playoff. He led The British Open on the final day in 2009 before bogeying three of the last four holes and finishing one shot back.

Westwood led after three rounds of the Masters in 2010, but slipped back to finish second to Phil Mickelson. At The British Open in the same year, he compiled four solid rounds to finish second, seven shots behind Louis Oosthuizen.

In seven years between 2010 and 2016, Westwood finished in the top 10 at the Masters five times. He also led going into the final day at The British Open in 2013, but a final round of 75 pushed him down into a tie for third behind Phil Mickelson.

Westwood’s consistency at the start of that decade saw him take over as World No.1 in October 2010, when he ended Tiger Woods’s dominance of the rankings.

It remains his proudest achievement in golf. “Any time you can say you are the best player in the world, it’s an incredible achievement. I took the No.1 off Tiger as well, which gives it extra spice.”

Between 1997 and 2021, Lee Westwood was a regular member of the European teams that dueled with the USA for the most prestigious prize in international team golf – the Ryder Cup.

He formed a successful partnership with Nick Faldo in his rookie appearance, and a powerful pairing with Sergio Garcia five years later.

Westwood did not lose a match in 2004 and 2006, and in the former year his putt clinched the point that gave the Europeans an unassailable lead on US soil.

He played a key role in the Miracle at Medinah in 2012, coming in with a clutch singles point against Matt Kuchar as Europe came back from a 10-6 deficit on the final day to take the trophy.

By 2018, Westwood was one of the team’s non-playing vice-captains as Europe won again in Paris, and in 2021, at the age of 48, he played in the team beaten heavily at Whistling Straits.

Westwood was a member of seven winning teams, a European record, and featured prominently in numerous unforgettable Ryder Cup moments.

Lee Westwood’s fond memories of being part of a team contributed to the appeal of LIV Golf, which he joined in the summer of 2022.

Explaining why he and fellow European legend Ian Poulter had signed up, he said:
“Because of how much we love playing team golf in the Ryder Cup… whenever I’ve
played team golf it’s been nice, it’s been different. People embrace team sport, it
becomes tribal, us against them.”

He strongly believes that the franchise model is part of the future of golf. He said in
2024: “The tide seems to have turned on LIV Golf. It feels like it’s been more accepted.

“It seems people are understanding what it’s about now and starting to see it as a
different form of golf, and starting to enjoy it more.”

Majesticks GC, which has blazed the trail in terms of the way it runs its franchise, is
unusual in that there are three captains – Westwood shares the responsibility with Poulter and Henrik Stenson.

The unusual setup means Westwood and his two friends have a stake in the success of the Majesticks, both on and off the course. Their performances determine how well the team performs inside the ropes and they are the principal decision-makers signing off on such things as sponsorship opportunities, staffing hires and merchandising.

What’s in Lee Westwood’s bag? Since he was 14, the answer has been Ping. The famous brand got in touch when he won that county championship, and Westwood has been playing with Ping clubs ever since.

He said in 2024: “There are so many variables in golf, and if you can keep the clubs constant you eliminate a variable – it’s not the clubs.”

His driver is the Ping G425 LST, while the three-wood is the G430 and his fairway wood the G425 MAX FW. Westwood uses the Ping i210 irons, and the brand’s Glide 3.0 wedges. His putter is the Ping Sigma 2 Fetch, and he plays with Titleist Pro V1x balls.

Most often in recent years, his caddie has been his wife Helen. She began caddying for him when she was his girlfriend in 2018, and the couple married shortly before the 2021 US Open.

Lee Westwood’s first wife was Laurae Coltart, the sister of Scottish golf pro Andrew. The pair had two children, a son and a daughter, before their divorce in 2015.

Westwood’s son Sam is an aspiring professional golfer. He and his dad played in the same tournament at the Indonesian Masters in 2021, a title Westwood Senior has won three times.

Lee says he is not involved in coaching his son, explaining: “I’d like him to have just one set of opinions.” But he is always ready to pass on advice about the mental side of the game, including the need for self-belief and resilience. 

“Never get too down,” he says. Get rid of that anger, regroup and get on to the next shot.”

Westwood now works out in the gym every day. He said: “The older you get, the harder you have to work.”

He began working with coach Steve McGregor in 2006 and still does. He was inspired to do so by seeing players like Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh working out – at a time when courses were getting longer and the rough deeper.

Westwood is a keen fan of Nottingham Forest, his local English Premier League team, and has also had several racehorses in training. One of his horses, Hoof It, won the prestigious Stewards Cup at Glorious Goodwood in 2011.

He received an honorary degree from Nottingham Trent University in 2007. Three years later, the uni renamed its newly expanded sports hall the Lee Westwood Sports Centre.

Westwood has also set up golf camps in his name and a junior golf tour to offer encouragement and guidance to the next generation of aspiring golfers.

In more than three decades as a professional golfer, Lee Westwood has earned more than $40million in prize money through his play on the European Tour and beyond. In the first three seasons of LIV Golf, he earned another $8.9million.

Westwood has had Ping as a club supplier and sponsor for more than three-and-a-half decades, while Titleist provides his golf balls, and FootJoy is responsible for his shoes.

Westwood has partnerships with other brands including Close House, a PGA Golf Academy near to his home in the North-East of England. It features two 18-hole golf courses he designed.

He also has tie-ups with the Loch Lomond whisky distillery and travel business Your Golf Travel.

When Lee Westwood won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in 2020, it made him a tournament winner in four different decades. That longevity at the highest level of golf is extraordinary, and Westwood clearly relishes the opportunity to keep competing in LIV Golf.

He said in 2024: “I’d like to keep playing as long as I can, and be competitive as long as I can. But I’m a realist as well. You can’t play for ever, at some point I’m not going to hit it far enough.”

At that point, he foresees himself moving into a management role at Majesticks, with maybe some mentoring too. “But who knows?” he said. “You never know what’s round the corner.”

But however long he plays, he says he doesn’t want his legacy to be about golf. He added firmly: “I want the kids to say I was a good dad, and my wife to say I was a good husband.”