Golf: Westwood 'turns the corner'

Lee Westwood will today discover whether the light at the end of the tunnel means bright times ahead or merely an oncoming train in the Volvo Scandinavian Masters.

The European number one fired his first sub-70 round in 17 attempts at Barseback yesterday to signal a potential return to top form.

The 28-year-old has missed the cut four times in his last six tournaments and did so by nine shots last week in the TNT Dutch Open.

There were encouraging signs that the world number nine might be about to turn the corner, however, with an opening 67 that delighted playing partner Colin Montgomerie and Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance.

But the acid test will come this afternoon as Westwood tries to get in contention to retain his title on a course that yielded hundreds of birdies in perfect scoring conditions during the first round.

The last time Westwood shot 67 was in the English Open almost two months ago when he finished joint fifth, his best of the season so far, only for that to prove something of a false dawn as he then went on that run of four missed cuts out of six.

The long break he took around the birth of his first child Samuel in April, and moving to a new house, were widely blamed for the slump in form and Westwood conceded on Wednesday he had also been his ‘‘own worst enemy’’ on the course with a bad attitude contributing to the problems.

‘‘I did not let it get to me yesterday, although it was testing me,’’ said Westwood, who was four shots off the lead held by England’s Anthony Wall.

‘‘On the 11th (his second hole) my drive went into a fairway bunker rolled to the lip and then back down and plugged.

‘‘From there I found a terrible bare lie in the greenside bunker and I was thinking ‘here we go’. These things are sent to try us but I kept my head on and battled on.

‘‘I’d set my stall out at the start of the week that I was going to think positive at all times and it would appear this is a slight turning point.

‘‘It always helps to shoot a low score because it gives you confidence and that was certainly more like it. I’m looking forward to getting out today and improving again.’’

Londoner Wall carded 10 birdies and one bogey in his nine-under-par round that was just one shot off the course record, to leave some of Europe’s top names trailing.

Montgomerie and Darren Clarke shared second, three shots behind alongside Dane Soren Hansen and Swede Peter Hedblom, while Westwood was among seven players, including Torrance, another shot back.

With Montgomerie therefore looking certain to book his place in the Ryder Cup, and Westwood and Clarke looking in good form, Europe’s team was beginning to take shape.

Torrance revealed his list of contenders for the team which at one stage stretched to 46 was now down to around six, with his main concerns coming down to his choice of wild cards.

Jesper Parnevik is favourite for one of those picks and after a 71, his prediction that he will need to win the USPGA to qualify automatically looks like coming true.