Back problems force troubled Westwood to miss Irish Open

LEE WESTWOOD, the world’s number three golfer, confirmed last night he will not be playing in the 3 Irish Open at Killarney at the end of the month.

Westwood has suffered major back problems and is only playing at St Andrews because of how much the British Open Championship means to him.

“I can’t remember getting the injury,” said Westwood. “It may have happened over time. I ruptured my plantaris muscle. It’s not very important but if you rupture something, then there’s swelling. I’ve got swelling into my ankle. Apparently, it’s six to eight weeks recovery time if you put your feet up and I’ve done that for seven days and it’s pretty boring.

“But with the biggest tournament on the calendar this week, I can’t really afford to do that. It’s a case of managing it this week, strapping it up, trying to keep the swelling from getting any worse and playing as well as I can.

Then I’ve got a couple of weeks off and hopefully I’ll be recovered for the Bridgestone World Championship event.”