Westwood eyes major title next season

Dunhill Links Championship defending champion Lee Westwood admits he will never have a better chance of ending his major hoodoo than next season.

The Ryder Cup hero is currently 16th in the Volvo Order of Merit and 45th in the world but this week in Scotland he will be defending the title he won this time last year.

The Englishman has had some brilliant successes through a glittering career but he has still to get his hands on any of the majors.

That missing link has burdened some of the greatest golfers ever – including Colin Montgomerie – but the Englishman is confident that can change next season.

“I always thought I had a fairly good game for the majors,” said Westwood. “It is my kind of golf to put the ball fairly straight and the US Open and USPGA are similar courses.

“I play the ball fairly high and stop it quickly and for the Masters you need a fair bit of imagination and I have that on the greens.

“My game is certainly improving all the time and I feel if I keep making progress with the same sort of consistency and play well going into them, then I am sure I will have a chance in this type of tournament next season.

“I am a better player than I was five years ago and I have worked hard on every aspect of my game and this has been a successful season.”

Westwood admits that he is oozing confidence for his Scottish defence after his impressive display at Oakland Hills in which he finished Europe’s joint-top scorer.

“I am flying as I am sure everybody on the Ryder Cup team is,” he smiled. “The Ryder Cup has given all those players plenty of confidence which you will see.”

World number two Ernie Els is also in confident mood but he feels the high winds could be his biggest enemy.

The South African has not even felt the need to practise much on the three courses – St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns – but he is on a high after winning the American Express Championship in Ireland.

He said: “I have not practised them all because I only got in on Tuesday. I have played 18 holes of the old course but I have played the course so many times so I know it quite well.

“The way the weather has been the last few days I didn’t want to play and the weather conditions will be tough. But I have played well and I am ready to go.”