Player Profile - Lee Westwood

This week’s player profile highlights the career of newly crowned world number one Lee Westwood. Born in the town of Worksop in Nottinghamshire, England Westwood’s first exposure to the game of golf came at the relatively young age of thirteen, when he started playing on golf clubs his grandparents bought him to encourage his natural talent for golf. His father, who was a maths teacher, took up the game to support his son’s development as a golfer.

At the age of seventeen, Westwood had made his mark on the local golf scene when he became the champion of Nottinghamshire. This was followed by wins at the Peter McEvoy Trophy and the British Youth Championship. In 1993, at the age of twenty, he turned professional.

After a successful debut, Westwood would wait three years for his first professional win, the 1996 Volvo Scandinavian Masters. Following this initial win, he claimed victory in Japan, Malaysia, Spain and Australia. These early wins on a number of continents were a taste of things to come for Westwood, whose ability to win on different continents has become a trademark of his career.

In 2000, Westwood enjoyed a whirlwind season during which he won seven international tournaments. It was at the end of this season that he won the European Oder of Merit, unseating golfing great Colin Montgomerie who had dominated European golf up to that point. However, the following year saw the birth of his son Samuel Bevan and a change in priorities for Westwood. A committed man, the champion took several years out of his tour career to watch his son grow up, while restructuring his swing with the assistance of golf swing guru David Leadbetter.

In 2007 Westwood made a re-entry into the world of professional golf, carding a number of impressive wins in Europe that shot his golf ranking from outside the top 250 to within the top 50 in a single season. After 2008, he was in the world top 20, and by the beginning of this year he was world number 3. This weekend, Westwood dethroned Tiger Woods to become world number one.

Lee Westwood has weathered the challenges of professional golf, the responsibilities of a family and the difficulties of injury to become the highest-ranked professional golfer in the world. His career is a great inspiration to young golfers and he continues to thrill fans with his top-notch game.