Leadbetter sees improvement in Westwood

Lee Westwood continued his quest for a first victory in almost three years today with a glowing tribute from coach David Leadbetter.

Westwood began working with Leadbetter in January in a bid to arrest the amazing loss in form which has seen him slump from fourth in the world to outside the top 200.

So far, improvement has been painstakingly slow with just one top-10 finish this season and seven missed cuts, but Leadbetter recently gave Westwood a massive confidence boost.

“I saw him at the USPGA and he said my swing looked as good as it ever has,” explained Westwood to the Press Association after a first-round 65 in the BMW International Open in Munich.

“It’s just a matter of putting all the pieces together and getting the confidence on the golf course. It doesn’t matter how many tournaments you’ve won, when you’re playing well or badly it’s all about confidence.

“Hopefully I can get into contention, if I keep playing like this I don’t foresee many problems.”

Westwood’s 65 was only good enough for a share of sixth place alongside Paul Casey and Swede Robert Karlsson as the low scoring associated with this venue continued.

France’s Raphael Jacquelin shot his second 62 in the space of three weeks for a two-shot lead over defending champion Thomas Bjorn and England’s Gary Emerson - who both started with eight pars but raced home in 29 – and Germany’s Marcel Siem, a former club champion at Nord-Eichenried.

It made a refreshing change from the wars of attrition seen recently at the USPGA and NEC Invitational, and Casey was especially pleased to get back to hunting birdies as he seeks to hit top form with the Ryder Cup qualification process starting next week.

“I’d like to make a big dent in the Ryder Cup points race for the rest of the season,” said Casey, who has already won twice this year and lies ninth on the Order of Merit.

“It will take the pressure off next year if you can go and accumulate €500,000 between now and the end of the season, and that doesn’t need a win because there are big-money tournaments like the Dunhill Links and American Express Championship to come.”

Seve Ballesteros’ first appearance for four months is destined to be a short one after the Spaniard slumped to a 12-over-par 84 in the first round to lie last of the 156-strong field by five shots.

Ballesteros has not played on tour since missing the cut in the Benson and Hedges International in May. The 46-year-old was last seen later that month when he pulled out of the Volvo PGA championship at Wentworth citing the ’flu, the day after he had been fined and severely reprimanded by the tour for his conduct at the Italian Open.

The five-time major winner was disqualified for signing for an incorrect score after refusing to accept a one-stroke penalty for slow play and altering his card.

He then accused the European Tour ’mafia’ of waging ’a war’ against him, alleging officials were out to get him because of his membership of the so-called ’Gang of Four’ who complained about how the tour was being run.