Westwood poised to reach summit

LEE WESTWOOD has decided not to play again this month because of his nagging leg injury – and as a result will take the world number one spot off Tiger Woods on October 31.

Westwood had a chance to end Woods’ five-year reign yesterday with a top-two finish in the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews, but managed only 11th place.

If he had gone to Vilamoura to defend his Portugal Masters title this coming week he would have had to finish third to take the number one spot.

But the fact that he has pulled out of the event and Woods is not back in action until the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai on November 4-7 means they will swap places before then.

Although he had wanted to achieve the top spot on the course Westwood, who helped Europe win back the Ryder Cup straight after a six-week lay-off, said last night: “I’ll take it any way.

“I’ve had a great year until getting injured. Look at all the world ranking points I’ve won – I was leading that by a mile before my injury.

“But I’m not allowing myself to think about it until it happens. It’s something I’ve always dreamt of and it would be great if it happened.”

The only way Woods can hang onto his position would be to enter another tournament, but since he has already regained the number one spot from Ernie Els, Greg Norman, David Duval and Vijay Singh during his career, trying to grab it back off Westwood might prove an added spur for him on his return.

Meanwhile golf’s newest major champion Martin Kaymer yesterday became the first player to win three times in a row on the European Tour since Tiger Woods four years ago.

The 25-year-old German added the Dunhill Links title to the US PGA Championship he took in a play-off in August and the KLM Open he ran away with in Holland last month.

For Kaymer, now up to world number four and more than €980,000 (£860,000) clear of Graeme McDowell at the top of the European money list, it completed a dream week.

Six days after achieving another victory on his cup debut at Celtic Manor he produced a superb six under par 66 to beat English pair Danny Willett and John Parry – Walker Cup team-mates three years ago – by three and four shots respectively.

Vicar’s son Willett threatened to spring an upset when he sank a 50-foot eagle putt from off the green at the long 14th to go into the joint lead.

But Kaymer wasted no time putting the 23-year-old from Yorkshire in his place. He followed him in from 25 feet for birdie, then made his own outrageous 40-footer from left of the 17th green.

And although his final drive finished on Granny Clark’s Wynd, the road crossing the fairway, he hit his second off the tarmac to six feet and made it for yet another birdie. Kaymer took the €571,994 £502,512 first prize with a 17 under par aggregate of 271. It was his fourth win of the season – and the last person to do that in Europe was also Woods in 2006.