Golf: Olazabel help for Westwood

Lee Westwood will have Jose Maria Olazabal partly to thank if he can turn his form round and start reigniting his career in Florida this week.

Westwood, without a victory since the Cisco World Match Play at Wentworth in October 2000 and down from fifth in the world then to 41st now, was happy to receive help from his former Ryder Cup colleague in the build-up to one of golf’s most prestigious events.

The £4m (€6m) Players’ Championship starting at Sawgrass tomorrow is known as the sport’s unofficial fifth major and carries a first prize of approaching £800,000 (€1.3m) - the biggest on the US Tour.

Westwood finished fifth and sixth on his first two appearances in it, but last year took eight on the last hole in the second round to miss the halfway cut by one and since then has rarely looked like the player who the previous season was Europe’s number one.

Another missed cut at Bay Hill last week - this time by five after scores of 74 and 77 - left the 28-year-old disappointed again.

But after spending time with Olazabal, a winner in California last month, on the practice range on Monday and then playing the course with him yesterday Westwood said: ‘‘It’s gradually coming back.

‘‘I’ve had a shoulder problem for about three weeks - I just suddenly woke up one morning with it so I’ve been having some treatment on that.

‘‘I can only feel it slightly now and hopefully it will totally clear away soon. These are big weeks coming up and I’m working hard. Not that I ever stopped doing that really.’’

Westwood’s decline can be gauged from the fact that he needs a wild card to make the Britain and Ireland team for next month’s Seve Trophy match against the Continent of Europe at Druids Glen near Dublin.

Captain Colin Montgomerie is the man to decide next week and while the Worksop golfer has heard nothing yet from his Ryder Cup team-mate, it is hard to imagine him being left out.

Foremost in Montgomerie’s mind, of course, is his own form.

Without a win himself since the Scandinavian Masters last August, the Scot is back in America for the first time since being heckled at the Accenture world match play in California a month ago.

Having initially said after that he would be turning his back on the States after this season, Montgomerie changed his mind a week later.

How he would react to a further outbreak of the problem remains to be seen, but tournament officials have addressed the issue along with all the other security concerns following September 11.

Tournament director Brian Goin said: ‘‘The players are here as our guests and it’s important that nothing affects the athletes’ performance.’’

Fans are not being allowed to bring any personal items bigger than six inches, among the banned items being cameras, mobile phones, camcorders, banners, rucksacks and binoculars.

No alcoholic drinks can be brought onto the premises either.

‘‘We definitely want people to feel comfortable, but we aren’t going to sacrifice anything when it comes to their safety and that of the players,’’ added Goin.

‘‘There’s a fine line between people looking around and saying to themselves ‘this is good, I feel safe’ and saying ‘oh God, this is like a police state’.’’

Similar steps have been taken for the Masters at Augusta in three weeks’ time - the first major championship since September 11.

Goin has worked on the US Tour for 14 years and admitted: ‘‘The things we are doing now are things I never thought I would see.’’

It even emerged that one of the terrorist training videos dealt with an attack on a golf tournament and Goin stated: ‘‘I thought somebody was teasing me when I heard that.

‘‘We will have over 100 armed officers working here and we have been asking players whether they want one to be visible close to them.

‘

‘Every tournament director is watching what we do and it’s important we set the standard.’’

Montgomerie has asked not to be treated any differently to any other player, and his manager, Guy Kinnings, said: ‘‘I have spoken to the PGA Tour. The head of security was incredibly helpful and willing to look into anything we felt necessary.’’

Montgomerie, who arrived in Jacksonville only late yesterday, does not find himself playing with other star names in the first two rounds.

Canadian Glen Hnatiuk and American Chris Smith are his partners and an opening round tee-off time of 7.10am (local time) tomorrow should ensure a quiet start.

He does not go out again until 12 noon on Friday, however, and the crowd, especially around the island green 17th, can be expected to be considerably noisier then for everybody passing through.